Professor Layton and the Unwound Future The Novel
by TheGiantsFan
Summary: Eventually this fanfic will be completed. I really enjoyed writing this when it first came out and I hope to be able to finish off the story this summer. This is Professor Layton and the Unwound Future turned into a novel. Chapter 8 is here! The gang heads to the Thames to try to find Future Layton and why he is impersonating the Professor.
1. Prologue: The Clock Shop on Midland Road

This is a work of fiction. The characters, groups, and events portrayed within are in no way intended to resemble those of the real world.

It was a beautiful day in London, England. Many civilians were out for a stroll, and the streets were busy as well. It felt perfect outside. Not too hot, or too cold. In the background, you could hear bells, coming from a clock tower or a church, perhaps. It was an ordinary day in London, but very soon it would become extraordinary. It would send some familiar faces on an adventure that they would not soon forget.

Meet Professor Hershel Layton. A professor who studies archaeology at Gressenheller University in London. He became a professor at the young age of 27, and his love for fossils, and other artifacts from the past is matched only by one thing, puzzles. Hershel is well known for being an avid puzzle solver, and is always up for a brain teaser. He often journeys to faraway places, making new friends at an archaeology dig, or helping someone out with a personal problem. While no one is perfect, Hershel Layton is as close as you can get to being a true gentleman. He would sit down with a nice cup of tea and tell you that no one can achieve perfection, but when a situation occurs, he always seems to do the right thing. You can always find Layton in a crowd when you see his black top hat, with a red stripe at the brim.

Luke Triton is one of Layton's closest friends. He is a boy about 11 or so years old, and the son of one of the Professor's old friends. His dad being a mayor, Luke is growing up very proper also, but does not get as much quality time with his father. He has an odd but fascinating talent of being able to communicate with animals. While this may seem far-fetched, he can normally help an upset stray, or make your average pet feel a bit better. Luke travels with the Professor on many of his journeys and is more than a help when it comes to solving puzzles. He is an intelligent young man and is growing up to be a fine person. He calls himself Layton's "apprentice", or "apprentice number one" when associating with Layton's other friends. He wants to grow up to be a "true gentleman" like his friend and mentor, Layton. He wants to always do the right thing, and like Layton, tries to never refuse helping someone in need. And that's just what got the Professor and Luke started on their newest adventure.

Both Luke and the Professor were in a bus, and while the Professor sat calmly, his assistant (while Luke would correct him and say apprentice every time he called him that) was staring, confused at an envelope.

"It just doesn't seem to add up, Professor."

Hershel looked down at Luke, smiled, and said, "I honestly thought you were pulling my leg."

"What? I wouldn't dream of it!" Luke stared at the letter once more, and began to read it in his head.

"Professor, I hope this letter finds you well. As for me, I'm in quite a predicament. You see, the London we know and love has been thrown into absolute chaos. To complicate matters, the calamity I speak of does not take place in your time. This may be difficult for you to believe, but I am writing to you from 10 years in the future. I know this is a lot to take in, but I'll explain it all soon. For now, I ask that you head to the clock shop on Midland Road in Baldwin. I look forward to seeing you again.

Your student, Luke Triton"

Luke was puzzled. Could this strange letter actually be sent from his own future self? He didn't know what to make of it, and Hershel was also mystified by the note. Neither one of them really knew anything except that they were supposed to head to the Midland Road Clock Shop.

"Strange as it sounds, it seems that the author of this letter is none other than your future self, Luke."

A confused Luke responded, saying, "From…my future self? But how is that even possible?"

"I don't know. But it does raise the question: If this letter is indeed authentic, how did it get there?"

Jokingly, Luke responded, "Um…by time-traveling postman?" He smiled. "Just joking, of course! But on a more serious note, I think this mystery might be the oddest one we've ever encountered!"

"Indeed. And even in the future, you seem to need to my help in solving it. You're constancy can be quite a comfort in these uncertain times, my boy.

"Er…well, thank you, I suppose. But back to the main question, how do we know that this letter is real?"

"Hmm. Well, we haven't much to go on yet. But I can't help but think that this strange occurrence is connected to the terrible events of last week."

"Hmm."

Just then, Luke started to remember the unfortunate events that occurred at the previous weeks' time-machine demonstration.

"It all started about a week ago," Luke thought. The next thing he remembered was the voice of Dr. Alain Stahngun, talking about his newly built "time-machine."

He was talking in front of a large building, on his sides were a water fountain, and a large contraption with a clock face, which must've been his time-machine. There were many people watching the demonstration, sitting at tables with white tablecloths. Two people were seated at each table, including Professor Layton and Luke. Other recognizable people were Inspector Chelmey and Constable Barton from the Scotland Yard, Prime Minister Bill Hawks and his wife, and other scientists well known around London.

Chelmey and Barton were the most recognizable to The Professor and his young apprentice. They had been with them during their latest few adventures, and could be spotted from a mile away. Chelmey was a tall man of authority, and had olive green pants and sport coat. Under that he had a few shirts and a small purple tie. Barton was smaller, wearing mostly lavender and had a purple hat to go with it. Both he and Chelmey had mustaches that stood out more than any other feature on their faces.

Chelmey is a police inspector and takes his job maybe a bit too-seriously. While showing mixed feelings for Luke, he particularly did not like Layton. His reason for this is that he doesn't like Layton's snooping around. He says Layton should "let him do his job" although Chelmey often is wrong about the person responsible for the crimes that he is investigating. He secretly admires how Layton always can figure out what really happened in a Sherlock Holmes-esque way. Normally he treats people with no respect, unless they are other people from the Yard or political world.

Constable Barton is hopeful of getting up to an Inspector level like his boss and co-worker, Chelmey. Chelmey basically treats him like garbage. Every time he makes a little screw up, Chelmey will yell at him to almost no end. He truly does mean well, but is scared to voice his opinions on business matters to his boss, in fear that he could be scolded or fired in doing so.

Anyways, Dr. Alain Stahngun was starting to explain his time machine to the guests at the demonstration.

"Using a six-dimension alpha distributor, I was able to guide a concentrated stream of Hamanier particles through a temporal vortex, more commonly known as a wormhole. This stream of particles allowed me to divine the terminal points of the vertex. Armed with this information, the next step was to artificially distort the flow of time and generate a massive magnetic field via a Soolha coil. Once the magnetic field is firmly established, one has the ability to quite literally punch holes, or Hive gaps, into the very fabric of space-time. After this crucial step, it is simply a matter of constructing an energy gate to…

While Stahngun was explaining the complicated project of building a fully functional time machine, Chelmey and Barton chowed down on some grub that had been provided.

"Quite the spread we have here, Inspector. Though it does make me wonder what we did to deserve invitations to such a feast."

"It's obvious, Barton. I'm an influential man in the world of law enforcement. It's only natural I'd be invited to an important event such as this."

While chewing, Barton responded to his boss' comment. "I suppose that's possible."

"Possible, you say?"

"Erm, probable! Highly probable, sir!"

"Hrm. Well the food here is certainly nothing to write home about."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Barton said while taking another bite. "I think it's quite scrumptious myself."

"Bah. This over salted chop and pile of wilted greens has nothing on Amelie's cooking."

"If that's your feeling, sir, I'd be happy to relieve you of that, um, burden."

"Now, see here, Barton! If you don't return to my chop to me at once, I'll have you driving a desk next week."

"It would be worth it! Mmm…This roast is simply delectable."

While Barton ate, and Chelmey explained that his wife makes better food, the Prime Minister, Bill Hawks, and his wife, Caroline, were also talking about the food at the presentation.

"This food is simply dreadful, Bill. Do get this over with quickly, so we can leave."

"…Yes, dear."

The Professor and Luke also had a quick chat before the rest of the demonstration occurred.

"I have to say, I fell a bit out of place here, Professor."

"That's quite understandable, Luke. I'm sure most people would feel the same way in presence of the Prime Minister.

"Hey, look! I think I see Inspector Chelmey over there!"

"Hmm…"

"So, Professor. What do you think about this whole event? Do you believe that someone has really built a working time machine?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Still, if it proves to be true, can you imagine the stir it will cause in the scientific community?"

"Well, I, for one am very excited. Though you don't seem entirely convinced, Professor.

"Anything's possible, Luke. But I won't be convinced until I've seen the contraption work for myself. And I must confess, something about this entire demonstration seems a bit…off."

"Why do you say that?" Luke is obviously very eager for the demonstration to begin, but Layton has his doubts. "Ah, of course! That must be your famous intuition talking, huh?"

"That's one way of putting it," Layton said as he adjusted his top hat. "But enough speculation. Look over there, Luke."

There is a guard in the background that looks awfully nervous about something. He is looking out for something. So, Layton being a true gentleman, he wants to try to relieve the man of his stress. If he was asked about it, he would reply by saying, "a true gentleman always helps a person in need."

"That guard? What about him?"

"He seems to be looking for a man who snuck in uninvited."

"Oh, so we have an intruder in our midst!"

Layton and Luke went over to talk to the man.

"Oh, dear. This is NOT going to go over well…"

"You look troubled, sir. Might we be of any assistance?"

"Oh, yes, please! You see, I've just received a report of some untoward behavior…

The guard explained to the Professor that someone did, indeed, sneak in uninvited. He has received a few clues as to the man's whereabouts, so he shares the information with Layton and Luke, and under examination, Luke gladly directs the guard to the intruder's table. The thankful guard goes and arrests the intruder.

"Splendid work, my boy!"

The guard with a red hat, and a long pointed nose protruding from his face re-approached Layton and Luke after making the arrest.

"Whew! Thanks so much for your help. That fellow's mooching days are over!

"Did you see that, Professor? I just aided in the apprehension of a suspect! Oh look, the presentation is about to begin! Let's get back to our seats.

As both the Professor and Luke reached their seats, a man with a big face and even larger chin took the stand. His mustache was so large that you could only see half of his mouth. He spoke loudly but slowly, making sure he pronounced each word perfectly.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for taking part in an event that will undoubtedly go down in scientific history. And here to demonstrate mankind's first time machine is its creator, Dr. Alain Stahngun!"

Dr. Stahngun had dark gray hair in the shape of a lightning bolt in both the front and back of his head. He also had a goatee and wore a white lab coat and wasted no time getting started.

"Thank you, my esteemed colleagues. After years of research in the field of time travel, I am pleased to share the fruits of my labor. In just a few short moments, I will be moving on to our scheduled demonstration. But first, I am pleased to announce that Prime Minister Bill Hawks is in attendance today. As such, I have reserved a very special seat for our very special guest. Please, join me on stage, Prime Minister. No need to be shy!"

Bill Hawks was an older, shorter, man. Probably in his fifties to sixties. The man had on a red sports coat with a blue bow tie. His face is as close to a square as possible. His nose is shaped like a vase. And he had rectangular glasses over his eyes.

"Is this thing real?"

"What do you mean?"

" I mean, is this contraption a genuine, working time-machine?"

"Why don't you have a seat and see for yourself."

The presenter again went on stage and requested a few words from the Prime Minister before the rest of the presentation.

"Before we start, would you honor us with a few words, Prime Minister?"

The Prime Minister smiled and waved, and without hesitation, gave a speech to the citizens of London who had attended.

"Good afternoon, everyone! Today is a monumental day not only for our great nation but for the entire human race. Since the beginning of time, we humans have strived to transcend our natural limits. We have conquered the skies and the seas, and we have even traveled to outer space. But the one frontier that has always eluded us is time. Indeed, traveling through time is a dream many thought was out of reach for humanity. Until now. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you will join me in ushering a new era for mankind!

Bill Hawks' speech was fairly simple, but yet enough to get everyone thinking and being more excited for the presentation that was to follow.

"Thank you for those words, prime minister. And now for the moment you've all been waiting for! Please take it all away, Dr. Stahngun!" With those words, the presenter left the stage and Dr. Stahngun started again.

"I have just one more request before we start. I'd very much appreciate the Prime Minister's assistance in this demonstration. What do you say, Mr. Hawks?"

The Prime Minister all of a sudden turned either confused or enraged.

"Wh-What?"

"I assure you, there's no cause for concern."

"But I was under the impression that I would merely be observing the proceedings."

"Ah, well, do forgive my presumption. It was never my wish to make you uncomfortable. I realize it's been some time since you traded in the hard sciences for the softer variety. Please, feel free to return to your seat, Prime Minister."

Stahngun did not know that Bill had other ideas.

"Wait! What I mean to say is of course I can assist you."

This widened Bill's wife, Caroline's, eyes. She thought that Bill had officially lost it.

"Bill! Have you lost your mind?"

"Ah, that's the courage we've come to expect from our fearless leader. You have my thanks," Stahngun said admirably. "And now, without further ado, I give you my time-machine!"

The time-machine was still in the background, looking quite impressive. The clock face alone, must've been a full 10 feet tall, and under it was a big engine of some sort. All over the machine there were engines and generators and all kinds of machinery huffing and puffing.

"Mr. Hawks, would you mind just stepping inside?"

Part of the time machine opened up and revealed a staircase to a closed area which must've been where you selected where you wanted to go. Bill Hawks climbed the steps slowly and then turned to face the audience.

Then, Stahngun pulled a red lever, and the time-machine was activated. Some gauges started moving, and smoke started coming out from everywhere. Then, the very staircase that was used by Hawks folded back up again and Hawks was inside the time-machine. No one could see him now, and this is when the pressure really started to kick in. Stahngun was about to officially send the Prime Minister of England through time. Wow. As the doors closed, Stahngun didn't even flinch.

He nodded, and then pulled another level. All of a sudden, the huffing and puffing was louder, the smoke got heavier. Noises started coming from the machine, and Layton immediately realized that something wasn't right.

"Huh?"

Lights flared, static emerged from the machine and the insides were filled with smoke. So much so, that Bill Hawks started choking and could barely breathe. Lights flashed, everything was going out of control as if there had been a system overload. Obviously, nothing good could come from this.

BAM! In a split second the whole machine exploded. Expensive parts of machinery went everywhere. A cloud of smoke and dust surrounded everything as more and more pieces shot up into the sky. The machine had apparently failed, because everything had been wrecked in the explosion. A thick cloud of dust came and Dr. Stahngun became trapped in it. Everyone's faces were in complete shock or horror. Gasps filled the air alongside all the smokescreen and someone screamed, "What the dickens just happened?"

The remaining parts of what was a clock face toppled over and broke the water fountain, turning it to shambles.

"Something's gone very wrong!"

Layton stood up and stared at all the little pieces that just a moment ago had been part of Dr. Alain Stahngun's time-machine.

The worst part was that in the middle of all of the smoke, Dr. Stahngun and Prime Minister Bill Hawks had vanished. There was no trace of either of them, anywhere, and for the time being, all of England had no real leader. Bill's wife, Caroline, was the first person to react to everything.

"Oh! Where is he? Someone find Bill!" Her voice was so frantic, you could only imagine what was going on inside her head. At first, she was a bit wobbly and then a second later, she fainted.

Ironically, the presenter told everyone to "please remain calm and refrain from panicking." It was unlikely that anyone would trust the man after hearing the uncertainty in his voice.

"This is chaos! Dr. Stahngun and the Prime Minister have vanished!"

Luke was very right about the situation as it was total pandemonium. People searching frantically for the Prime Minister. Others for Dr. Stahngun. No one knew what to think, and most people didn't want to stay there any longer.

Layton couldn't believe his eyes. He could only mutter, "My word," while staring at the nearby scenery.

And that was all that young Luke could remember about the situation. So, basically, Luke had remembered everything about the incident that occurred. He had even remembered the front page of the newspaper the day after the demonstration.

**Time-Machine Demonstration Goes Awry!**

Professor Layton and Luke were both still in the bus, and now chatting about the previous week's events.

"So, you think that what happened last week is somehow connected to this letter. Wait! Maybe if the time machine was real, this letter is real too!"

"I don't know about that, but these two elements aren't the only puzzling issues. Tell me, Luke—have you heard about the recent disappearances occurring in London?"

"Oh, yes. I read about it in the paper. Some of London's greatest scientists have been mysteriously vanishing."

"Yes, and I can't shake the feeling that those disappearances are linked to this whole affair. In any case, it seems our best course of action is to head to the location mentioned in the letter."

"Good idea!"

Layton and Luke reached their bus stop and both walked off the bus with a new investigation. They were to head to the Midland Road Clock Shop to see if the people there could tell them anything about the incident or the letter that they had received. The Professor didn't know what was going to happen, but the whole situation seemed to pique his interest.

Luke also thought that something was up, and was determined to get to the bottom of this whole thing. He didn't know if time travel really had anything to do with it, but it sure sounded like a huge puzzle, and puzzles were one of his favorite things.

"Well, here we are. The clock shop the letter mentioned should be around here somewhere. But where?"

"This seems an ideal time to consult the map that accompanied the letter."

In true Luke fashion, the Future Luke wanted to test Layton to see if he was worthy helping him in the future. Sure enough, they would only find out the shop's location by solving a puzzle. Luke assured that he could figure it out, so he took the map and solved the puzzle. He finished by using one of his signature quotes, "that was almost too easy!"

Layton and Luke were now back on the trail to Midland Road.

"Great! Finding that shop should be a snap now. Let's go, Professor!"

The Professor and Luke strolled down Midland Road, talking about what they expected to see at the clock shop. Luke suggested that his future self might be there, but then realized that it probably wasn't possible. No conspiracy really sounded right. So they figured to probably just wait and see.

"It's probably just a bit farther down this path."

Layton and Luke ran into a man by the name of "Stachen." He had seem them on their previous adventures, but always tried to keep his identity a secret.

"Keh keh keh! Can't say I've seen you two whippersnappers before."

"Are you sure about that? I feel like we've met before."

"Keh keh keh! Oh, no, no, no, you must be thinking of someone else. But enough about that. I'm suddenly not feeling too hot. I better head home. Be seeing' you fellas around.

Professor Layton and Luke finally reached the clock shop after walking a few blocks. It was at the very end of Midland Road. It looked like a house, and had a giant clock face on the front of it. It would remind you of the one that was on the time-machine. Actually, it was very similar. You'd know that it was the clock shop even if you were a mile away. It really stood out to you.

"This must be the place, Professor!"

"Ah, finally."

"I'll get the door! Huh?"

"What seems to be the matter, Luke?"

"The door is locked. How are we supposed to get in?"

"Let me have a look. Ah, of course. It seems we need to solve a puzzle on this door to gain entrance."

The puzzle that Layton figured out showed him a 2x5 rectangle. In the left squares, a clock was shown. On the other few pieces were symbols. The puzzle said to "push the timepiece" to gain entrance to the shop. At first, Layton didn't know what to make of the puzzle, seeing the different portions of a clock on many of the pieces. But then he looked at the symbols, and saw that one of them looked like an hourglass. Without hesitation, Layton pressed that portion, and it turned green.

"That did the trick!"

Luke opened the door slowly, and peeked inside. He wanted to see the insides of the place as soon as possible. Who wouldn't? I message from the future, directing him to go to this very shop! How exciting! He really wanted to see the insides, but at the same time he couldn't just barge in. How rude! He had to slowly open the door. When he took the first step, he was amazed by what he saw. Grandfather clocks, clocks to go on mantles. Big clocks, small clocks. Clocks that told the time in roman numerals, or Arabic numbers. Ones that chimed, ones that didn't. They walked through the shop. At a desk, they saw an old woman staring at them. At that point in time, she looked really creepy. She had a big smile like those "pudding face" commercials if you're familiar, and had a full head of gray hair. She looked to be in her sixties, at best. She blinked once, showing that she was a real person, because honestly, there might have been confusion.

Layton tipped his hat to the lady and then looked down a straight path to see what was most definitely the biggest clock he had ever seen.

"Look, over there!" Luke called the Professor to what seemed to be the main attraction at the shop. He didn't know that it had already caught the Professor's attention.

"What's this?"

"Oh, gracious – customers! We haven't had any of those in ages. Welcome!"

"Good day to you, madam. You'll have to excuse us, but we're not actually here to shop. You see, I received a letter the other day pointing me here."

"A letter, you say? Let me take a look at it, dearie. Hmm, yes. There's no mistake here. Whoever sent you this wanted you to visit our little shop."

"So you don't know the person who sent out this letter."

"Unfortunately, I can't say I do. But I do know who you are, Professor Layton!'

As the woman said that, she turned and revealed a little clock that she was using as a hairpiece. Obviously, whoever sent this letter was a mystery to even the owner, Spring. Layton knew that they were in the right place, though. He could sense it. It must have been his "famous intuition speaking" as Luke would say. At first he was a bit surprised that Spring knew who he was. He hadn't realized how often he was in the news.

"Oh, really? And how do you know the Professor?"

"Well, it's hard not to know a man who's in the paper so often. And I do so love my morning paper. I read it front to back every day. So of course I know the Professor."

"Did you hear that, Professor? Further proof that you're famous throughout all of London. Even all the way out here!"

"Hey, now! What do you mean, 'all the way out here'? Just because we don't fancy living in sardine-tin flats doesn't mean we're not centrally located! Still, it is quite a surprise to see the famous Professor Layton in the flesh. I'm going to need some proof before I believe you're not just some celebrity impersonator!

The Professor has earned some of his fame for being an excellent puzzle solver so Spring greeted Layton with a puzzle. Of course, no puzzle was too hard for the Professor. He solved it.

"Well, I for one am thoroughly convinced. You certainly do live up to your reputation."

"Of course he does!"

"Yes, well about that letter. I can't say I've seen it before, but my husband might know something about it. He's out right now, but he should be back any minute. Why not look around the shop while you wait?"

They brought their attention back to the clock.

"Wow—can you believe this clock?"

"It certainly is impressive. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to work."

"Well, there's no shortage of ways to tell the time here. You know, I've never seen a clock so big up close. It's a real shame it seems to be broken. But I've never seen such a wide variety of clocks in one place."

"Yes, and they're all extremely well made. Whoever made them must be tremendously talented."

"Really? How can you tell that by just looking at them?"

"One gains an eye for these things with age, my boy."

"Oh, I think I just heard the door! Someone's here!"

"That must be my husband."

It was indeed Spring's husband. He had a green hat on and you couldn't see most of his face as it was covered in hair.

"Wait till you see the little gem I picked up today, love—oh, my! Customers!"

"Welcome back, dear. This here is Professor Layton. He tells me he has some business with the shop."

"Layton? You're Professor Layton? My apologies! I wasn't expecting you so soon!"

Obviously Spring's husband had been expecting Layton, so naturally, Layton was forming some questions to ask the man. Like, "how the heck did this letter get here?"

"No apologies necessary, my good man. Oh, and allow me to introduce my—

"Apprentice! I'm the Professor's apprentice, Luke! Nice to meet you, sir!"

"Luke, you say? Hmm… What I mean to say is, those are fine manners! Nice to meet you too, lad. The name's Cogg."

"Tell me, Cogg, you seemed a bit flustered by our arrival. We certainly don't mean to impose."

"Oh, no, no, no. It's no imposition at all. It's just that I had instructions to show you our biggest clock upon your arrival."

"It certainly is quite a beauty. Pity it's not working."

"Yes, I'd planned to give her a tune-up before you stopped by so you could see her in all her glory. Now that I'm getting on in age, I have trouble remembering to keep the old gal in good repair. To be honest, I can't recall where this last gear goes, and without it, I can't start up the clock for you."

"Ah, well it certainly makes sense why our arrival might have taken you off guard."

"Tell me—the papers say you're a learned man. Surely you can figure out where this gear goes, yes?"

Hm? Me? Well, I'd like to help, but I'm not a mechanical engineer, you see…"

"Oh, at least give it a try. Don't you want to see our biggest clock in its full, working splendor?"

"I certainly do. Very well. I'll give it a shot."

Layton may not be a mechanical engineer, or any engineer, for that matter, but when looking at it, he clearly saw the answer. He knew how gears worked, so that certainly helped him place the gear.

"That did the trick! You stay right here. I'll go start her up! Here goes!"

The hands on the clock started spinning rapidly and smoke came from the clock, just like the one from the time-machine. Everything shook, and it seemed Cogg had more than just an ordinary clock in the back of his shop.

"Are you all right, Luke?"

"Yes, but that was quite a shake!

Layton dashed for the door and Luke followed. When going outside, there was a sight neither Layton nor Luke could have ever imagined. When going out to the streets of London, something became apparent: This was NOT London.

"What is going on here?"

"And just where in the world are we?"

The area was so much different, it was unreal. Everything had changed. And Spring and Cogg just stood there, smiling, in the Clock Shop on Midland Road.


	2. Chapter 1: Is This the Future?

Well, Professor Layton was speechless. He felt like pinching himself for the sole purpose of making sure he was awake. Sure enough, he was. Professor had been in London the majority of his life, and now what was Midland Road a good fifteen minutes ago was now, well, he couldn't describe it. He just knew it was different. This was not the same place. At the time, Hershel did not know what this meant, but something was very clear to him, this was the start of an adventure, and he was going to get to the bottom of it. It was a large puzzle, and even though a true gentleman would never boast or brag, he had to admit that he was good at solving puzzles.

"Hey! The door just slammed behind us! And now it's locked! Well that's not very polite!"

"Hmm. It does appear that we've been shut out."

"And why does everything look so different out here than just a few moments ago?"

"I don't know. But seeing as we can't get into the clock shop right now, why don't we take a look around the area?"

It was official. Layton and Luke were trapped in someplace, that wasn't the London they knew. They figured, if they didn't know where they were, the locals must, right? So they saw a construction worked with a protruding chin. Layton figured he'd ask the man a few questions. The man actually approached him first.

"Be careful around these parts. We're doing quite a bit of construction here, you see."

Did this man know that the Professor wasn't from here, wherever he was?

"Goodness—you certainly do work quickly!"

He was still under the impression that they were in London, just another part of it.

"I don't recall seeing any of this when I last passed through. When did you start work here?"

"Now that's a good question. I'd say it's been about a year. But we haven't gotten much done because we're shorthanded."

Luke was enraged. He thought the man was messing with them. How rude! Would you just lie to a random person?

"A year? Come on! Quit messing with us!"

"I'm positive there was no construction at all going on when I walked by a short while ago."

Now the construction worker, Art, was mad. Now he thought Layton was messing with him. Obviously, there was miscommunication between the two men.

"No construction at all? Look, I know progress hasn't been speedy, but I'm doing the best I can, buddy. So if you're going to make fun, beat it, will you? I'm busy here!"

This left everyone confused. The Professor was right, there had been no construction fifteen minutes ago. Art was also right. He had been working for a year, or he could not have built what he had.

"I'm sure your right, Professor. There wasn't any construction going on here before."

"I know London like the back of my hand, but this area feels quite foreign to me. How odd."

They found another person in the streets and wanted to see if he could confirm their suspicions.

"Holy Stilton on a stick! Great Cheshire on a chimney! Are you…? Nah, it couldn't be!"

The man was very shocked to see the Professor in the flesh. He was scared. He was very scared of the Professor."

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

"Whew! I thought I was in trouble when I saw that hat of yours. But it's clear you are not who I thought you were, so it seems we've got nothing to talk about. Beat it."

Layton and Luke stopped in a nearby café. Really just to talk to people about where they really were. They decided to talk to the manager, Anita, who was a nice woman with purple hair.

"Welcome, sirs. Please make yourselves at h—Oh my, that hat of yours…"

"Good day, madam. This is certainly a charming café you have here. Tell me, when did you go into business?"

"Go into business? Well, I've been running the place for two or three years. But the café itself has been around for much longer. It must be coming up on 50 at this point."

"I see, but I have just more question if you don't mind. I stopped by earlier and noticed your business was closed. Why wait until evening to open your doors?"

"Closed? You sure you came by here? I open this place up every day bright and early. It doesn't really get busy until later on, but, eh, what can you do? Oh, since you seem like a nice enough fellow, let me give you a tip. Lose the hat."

"My hat? Why would I do that?"

"I'd rather not go into details, but let's just say that a hat like that could get you into trouble."

They both walked out of the shop just as confused as before. First off, she said she had the shop open, and she had been running it for years. Then, she told the Professor to take his hat off. The top hat was Layton's favorite hat. He wore it everywhere, it was a symbol of being a gentleman. Ever since he got the hat, he loved it. Why would she want him to take it off?"

"This are seems unfamiliar as well. I'm sure I've never been here before." Luke was just as confused.

"Yes, it's clear something is going on here that I don't fully understand."

"Oh, wait! I have an idea about what happened! We must've left the clock shop from a different exit. So we're probably taking a different route away from the shop."

"No, that can't be right. Think back to when we left the shop, Luke. We left through the same door that we used to enter the shop. Of that, I am sure."

"Yes, I suppose you're right, Professor. But what else could explain this change of scenery?"

"Perhaps our surroundings will shed some light on things. Let's investigate the vicinity a bit more."

They saw a man named Hazel walking by, so the Professor again tried to make conversation.

"What? What is it? I didn't do anything, I swear! I know nothing!"

"Are you all right, sir? You're dripping with perspiration. May I suggest a calming cup of tea?"

"I—I apologize for the sweat, sir! And I'll get on that tea right away! Augh!"

Hazel was scared. He looked like the Professor had his death warrant written up. He didn't show any signs of being nervous when he looked at Luke, but the Professor certainly was a different story! Just then, Hazel ran away and showed no signs of turning back or slowing down. The Professor had made a simple suggestion, and apparently scared a man enough for him to run away. Layton tried to apologize if he had said anything, but it was much too late.

"Wow—he sure took off in a hurry. Have you noticed that a lot of people have been acting awfully nervous around you?"

"I certainly have, though I can't understand why. My hat in particular seems to make many of the people we've met feel uncomfortable."

"I don't know why anyone would be afraid of you or your hat. After all, it's not like you go around terrorizing folks when I'm not around. Hmm."

After walking back out of Midland Road, they saw the very bus stop they got off on when they were headed to the clock shop for the first time. But obviously, something about it was very, very different. Layton barely even noticed it! The place looked shut down. It was only an hour ago that they'd used the stop!

"What happened to the bus stop? It's in shambles! It looks like it's about to fall over!"

"Yes, it looks as if no one's used it in ages."

"But how can that be? We arrived here a few hours ago, and the shop looked fine then."

"Look, something's posted on the side of the bus stop."

"I'll go see what it says… "

"Well?"

"I don't understand this at all!"

"What do you mean?"

"The sign says that the service on this line has been discontinued."

"Given the appearance of this bus stop, I don't doubt it."

"Yes, but here's the strange part. The date on this notice is five years in the future!"

"What? Luke, let me have a look at that."

"Professor, I just had sudden thought. Could we possibly have traveled to the future?"

"It's true that we've encountered much here to suggest that we're no longer in the London we know. Just the same, I believe it's a bit early to jump to that conclusion, Luke. Let's see what else we can find out by exploring this strange place."

The Professor had just stopped talking to Luke, only to be stopped in his tracks by another man. He wore a black and white hat over blond hair that was so long in the front, you couldn't see his eyes! He had a scar on his chin, and the rest of his outfit looked like that of a mailman.

"You there in the tall hat—you wouldn't happen to be Professor Layton, would you?"

"I am indeed. And who might you be, sir?"

"That's not important right now. Here's what is important: I have an urgent letter for you. But before I go handing it over, I have to verify your identity. I've got a puzzle here picked out for just that purpose, so get to solving."

It was a harder puzzle. It involved taking shapes and fitting them into a model of the Professor's hat. It took some skill, skill that the Professor had. Within a minute, the Professor had the correct answer to the puzzle.

"All right, I'm convinced, Professor. Here's your letter."

"Let's see what it says.

Professor, if you're reading this, it means you've made it safely to my time. I can hardly wait to see you again. I wish to enlist your help in freeing this town from the tragedy that has befallen it. But first, I'm sure you'll want some proof that you're actually in the future. I've thought long and hard about the best way of convincing you. Make your way through town to the address below. What you find there is sure to quell any doubts.

Room 312 Green Hospital, 123 Auckland Lane

"Well, I think our next destination has been decided for us. Let's pay this hospital a visit."

"Sounds good, Professor. But how do we get to Auckland Lane?'

"It would be easy if the buses were still running, but unfortunately that's not the case. Perhaps that woman over there knows a different way to get around town."

…

"Excuse me. We're trying to get to Auckland Lane, but the bus doesn't seem to run there anymore."

"You're right about that. Those buses were already shut down when I moved to this city two years ago."

"Two years ago? But…the sign says the buses won't stop running for another five years."

"Five years? Goodness, no! You'd best recheck that math of yours. That notice is five years old."

"But that can't be right! Unless…"

"Luke! That's enough. I do apologize for my friend, madam. Tell me, do you find the lack of bus service in this area to be an inconvenience?"

"Here? Not at all. Whenever I need to use public transportation, I just take the underground railway. There's a stop on Flatstone Street. You two must be tourists, yes? With all your questions, you should stop by the hotel on Southern Street. It's just down this road. The staff there can help you find where you need to go."

"Thank you for your assistance, madam."

This made Luke angry. Luke had always been a citizen of London. And the woman had just called him a tourist! Sure they were asking questions, but Luke was always in London, definitely NOT a tourist.

"Tourists? Us? I was born and raised here! I've lived in London longer than she has!"

"Now, Luke, there's no need to get all wound up. Let's find that hotel."

They went farther down the road, and met up with a young boy named Max. Max had, let's say, a different way of communicating.

"Hi there. We're looking for a hotel on Southern Street. Is this Southern Street?"

"BZZ! Incorrect!"

The boy was maybe six years old or so, but he sure didn't sound like it. Confused by the first answer, Luke tried again.

"So…we aren't on Southern Street?"

"DING DING DING! Now you're in the neighborhood! The neighborhood of correct, that is."

"Professor, I'm having a hard time making heads or tails of what this boy is saying."

"He's trying to help, Luke. You just need to go about asking in a different way. Here—watch. Hello there, young man. Tell me, is Southern Street east of here?"

"DING DING DING!"

"And there's a hotel located there, yes?"

"DING DING DING! Correct again. Just look for the building with white walls up ahead."

"Thank you. All right, Luke. Unless our friend here is mistaken, we should head east to reach our destination."

The Professor always talked very proper, like an English gentleman. It could kind of be annoying sometimes, but if that's what it took to be a true gentleman, Luke was up for learning. They were to head a little bit farther down, and look for the white walled building, just as Max had said.

"If you say so, Professor."

They were practically at the hotel, but there was an awkwardly dressed man there. He had a black and white hat on, and black sunglasses. He had a black collared shirt over a white button-downed one. He was very mysterious in his black and white clothing, capped off with black pants and white shoes. You couldn't see his eyes, but you could tell that he wasn't happy.

Oh, oh, oh! You did NOT just try to talk to me. Do I LOOK like I want to talk? HMM?"

"I-I'm terribly sorry. I was only—"

He then addressed the Professor.

"You've got some nerve wearing that hat, you do! Yeah, nerve but no brains!"

Luke thought that he was talking to him, so he of course became flustered. Luke got easily angered when people tried to be rude to him.

"What's wrong with my hat?"

"Do I LOOK like I'm talking to you, pipsqueak? No, I'm talking to your pal with the big hat there."

"Me? Well I don't see anything wrong with my hat either, sir."

"Listen to you! 'I don't see anything wrong with my hat.' It's like you WANT me to rearrange your face! That's it! Time to teach you a lesson. Solve this puzzle!"

Of course people would challenge you to a puzzle. No threats or assaulting, it's always "solve this puzzle!" I doubt London is like this in real life, and if you have lived in London you could back me up. Anyways, the puzzle was pretty easy for a goon that threatening to give them facial reconstruction. There was one trick. But Layton still finished with ease.

"Well, someone's smarter than he looks. I'll let you off with a warning this time, all right? But if you're still wearing that hat tomorrow things will get ugly. And by 'things' I mean 'your face.'"

They finally talked to a girl, probably thirteen or fourteen years old that was in front of the hotel.

"Good day, young lady. Can you tell us if this building here is a hotel?"

"Oh, good day, gentlemen. If you're looking for a hotel, you've come to the right place! Hotel Duke is one of London's finest and most famous! Will you do us the honor of staying with us?"

"For a famous hotel, you keep an awfully low profile. This is the first I've heard of Hotel Duke."

"Well, there's a simple explanation for that. You see, we're a hotel for ladies and gentlemen with discriminating tastes. I can't say we're as popular with the primary-school crowd, little boy."

The Professor smiled when hearing this. Luke couldn't have been as happy, though.

"Ha ha! Our friend here doesn't take kindly to your besmirching the good name of her hotel, Luke. Well, young lady, thank you for your help."

They walked into the hotel, and they were greeted again by the young lady from outside.

"Welcome to Hotel Duke, one of London's finest and most esteemed establishments."

"Oh, hello again."

"I ran ahead and took the liberty of preparing a suite for you two. May I help you with your bags?"

"Oh, well, that was nice of you and all, but we just wanted to ask directions to the railway station."

"Perhaps you might reconsider staying with us. You are tourists here, are you not? As you can see, Hotel Duke is centrally located. Stay with us, and you'll spend less time traveling and more time having fun in the city."

"Ha ha! You do make a compelling argument, young lady. Location is everything. We'll take a room and directions to the closest underground railway station, if you please."

"Please, sir, none of that young lady stuff. Call me Becky, tee hee! Oh, and could I please ask you to sign the hotel guest book?"

"Um, Professor, are we really going to stay here?"

"Indeed we are. Somehow, you and I have managed to get ourselves lost in an unfamiliar area. As Becky noted, having a central location to return to while we're here could prove very useful."

They went to sign the guestbook.

"Oh, goodness me, hello. You'll have to forgive me—I didn't even see you two come in. Welcome to Hotel Duke, home of exemplary service and the world's best breakfast. I am Margaret, the hotel manager. Should you need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know."

"Thanks! But what about lunch and dinner? Those aren't the world's best as well?"

"Ah, it seems we have a little gourmand here. Rest easy, young man. For lunch, we offer sandwiches on fresh- baked, pillowy-soft bread. And if you enjoy a good roast, I suggest you order in for dinner, as ours is the best in the city."

I'm sure Margaret could go on and on about their fabulous food, but the Professor wanted to check in and go to their rooms.

"You know, Professor, I've changed my mind. I quite like this place. Let's stay here."

"Yes. Our sandwiches tend to have that kind of effect on people. Now, if I could just—oh, dear."

"What's wrong?"

"I've got four pens here, but I think only one of them has any ink in it."

Luke helped with the situation and picked the pen. It helped that the woman remembered a few details on the pens.

"You're all set now, Professor Layton. Oh, and you must be Luke. Becky will show you to your quarters."

"I'll be showing you to your quarters now, Professor Layton. My name is Becky, if you need anything, don't hesitate to call on me."

"We know your name, Becky. You gave it to us earlier, remember? And I'm Luke! Oh, and there's no need to be so formal. All that politeness makes me feel awkward."

"Shh! My granny's a stickler for formal service. I need to stay polite while we're in earshot!"

"Oh, gotcha."

"Now, if you two gentlemen are ready, let me escort you to your quarters. Right this way! This room has the best view in the hotel. You lucky ducks totally scored!"

The room had two beds with windows on one of the sides. Not much more than that was visible from the main room. A lamp was between the beds, and there was a chair closer to the door.

"Did you hear that, Professor? We lucked out!"

Becky commented on Luke's statement.

"Yeah…Though I guess it's not really luck, now that I think about it. See, ever since we moved the hotel to this new location, we haven't had a single guest!"

"So Hotel Duke used to be located somewhere else?"

"It's kind of a sensitive subject, so I'd rather not talk about it anymore. I hope you understand. Say, it was really something the way you solved that puzzle my granny threw at you."

"Yeah, I'm pretty big on puzzles."

"Me too! Tell you what—solve a puzzle for me and I'll tell you two how to get to the railway station."

Luke soon realized that the puzzle was actually finding a railroad station on a map with a given set of clues. Luke solved the puzzle and left Becky impressed.

"Nicely done. OK, so you're trying to get to the underground railway, right? It's not too far. Just keep going east once you leave the hotel. Soon you'll pop onto Flatstone Street. Head north and the station will be on your right."

"Thanks, Becky. I think we can manage from here."

"Oh, but wait. One more thing."

"What's that?"

"It's a bit of a detour, but you should head through the arcade north of here on your way out! There's a restaurant there that's just scrumptious!" She smiled. "Of course, it's not as delicious as the fare we serve here, but it's good, you know?"

"The arcade? You mean that area west of the hotel? When we walked by last time, there was an odd little boy blocking the way north."

"Oh, you must be talking about Max. He pretty much does whatever I tell him to. So just let him know that Becky sent you, and he'll let you right through."

Layton always found Becky to be a bit funny. This was no special occasion.

"Good to know. Well, we might as well go through the arcade and see a bit more of the area."

They were about to leave the hotel when the owner, Margaret, wanted to talk to Luke.

"Oh, young man, may I have a moment?"

"Are you talking to me?"

"I am indeed—er—Luke, was it?"

"It sure is. What can I do for you?"

"Oh, it's nothing terribly important. It's just been a while since we had a youngster like yourself here. That's why I thought I'd welcome you with a gift."

"A present? For me?"

"That's right. From what I hear, these are all the rage with the local children."

"Oh, it's one of those toy cars!"

"Do you have one too, Becky?"

"Me? Nah, I'm not into kiddie toys like that."

"Oh."

"I mean, not that there's anything the matter with having an interest in toys. Actually, that car is a perfect toy for a boy your age. So have fun with it!"

"Sure. I'll try to anyhow."'

"Don't look so glum, Luke. Collecting miniature cars is a perfectly respectable hobby for a gentleman."

"Yeah, I guess the Professor's got a point there!" If the Professor said it, Luke believed it. It was as simple as that, really. So once he heard the Professor call it "respectable", he suddenly took an interest in the red car.

"See! I told you!"

The Professor and Apprentice Number One strolled out of the hotel, and avoided the awfully mean man to the left of it. In a matter of seconds, they were with Max again.

Luke was the first to talk to the boy.

"Hi there. You're Max, right?"

"DING DING DING! That's correct! But how do you know my name?"

"Becky told us who you were."

"BZZT! Invalid answer! So bossy Becky sent you! You must be staying at her hotel."

"DING! I mean, yes, we are. Tell me, is that the arcade back through the arch. And does the arcade lead to the station?"

"DING DING DING! Yup, that's the arcade. If you walk all the way through, you'll hit a big street. That street is called Flatstone Street. The subway station is on the north edge of Flatstone Street."

They went outside of the arcade, just to see a guy dressed exactly like the man from the hotel. All black and white. Layton wanted to see what this guy was all about, and if it was anything like the previous man. Sure enough, he spotted them first.

"What do you think YOU'RE looking at, shorty?"

"Oh, um, hello, sir. Didn't we just see you out in front of the hotel?"

"What hotel? I've been posted here all day. Not that it's any of your business. I'd sneak off if I could, but if Bostro found out, he'd have my head."

"Yikes! Um, I guess I thought you were someone else. Have a good day."

"Not so fast, kid. You're the one who wanted to talk, so no running out on me. Standing around all day hasn't been a thrill ride. Let me bounce a puzzle off you."

Just like the last guy, Luke was given a puzzle. Just like the last time, he solved it. But the encounter did raise more questions about the situation.

"Bah! You solved it already? Great. What am I supposed to do to keep from nodding off on the job?"

It now seemed like the two men in black and white were being paid to stand where they were. They were both awfully bored, but getting paid for it. It appeared they were part of the same group, and their boss was a man named Bostro. Who was Bostro? With all these questions in mind, Hershel entered the arcade. They talked to the chef who had disappointing news.

"Sorry, to disappoint, friend, but we're not open yet. Didn't you see the sandwich board out front? It should of said as much."

"The sign seemed to indicate you were open. It's no trouble, though. We—"

"That Max is such a space cadet. I can't tell you how many times I've told that boy to change the sign on his way out. Sorry for the inconvenience. Would you like to have a seat and wait? We'll be ready before too long."

"Ah, in that case, we'll have to come back later. We're in a bit of a rush right now, you see."

"Just as well, really. I've got a mess on my hands that needs my attention right now."

"What seems to be the problem?"

"It's the door to the back entrance. The wife sent a new code to the lock when she went out. She left me a note explaining the new code, but I can't figure out what she's trying to tell me."

"Hmm. That is quite the predicament."

The Professor thought about the puzzle for a minute and then looked closely and saw the answer.

"Whew! Thanks to you, I can finally get to cooking. Come back later, and your tab's on the house!"

Seeing as there was nothing to do in the arcade/restaurant, the Professor and Luke headed out. A short man with a beard holding a newspaper approached them.

"Say, did you two see that no-goodnik skulking around here earlier?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"Just thought I'd give you a word of advice. His entire gang is bad news. They call themselves the Family, and they monitor everything people get up to around these parts."

"Who are you talking about exactly?"

"I'm sure you've seen them. They all dress the same, with the long black coats and black hats. Oh, and don't even try to be a hero. Bravery will only get you in the worst kind of trouble."

Luke butted into the Professor and the man's conversation.

"But why don't the police do something about them?"

"Police? Now, there's a word I haven't heard in a while. I haven't seen police on these streets for years. Nowadays, it seems like the Family makes the law."

Professor Layton was upset by the news. In a proper community, there would be police enforcing the law. Everyone would do as the law said or be arrested. It was unfortunate that in this version of London that it wasn't the same."

"How terrible."

"You're telling me. I—Oops, here comes one of their goons now. Try not to stare."

"Sir, would you mind if I had a look at that paper you're holding?"

"Well, I'm kind of busy hiding behind it right now. But sure. Knock yourself out."

Professor Layton looked at the paper only to find something beyond his explanation. That would be the date on the top of the paper.

"No…that can't be."

"Professor, look at the date on this paper!"

The man, who was unaware of their situation, answered, "Hey, no need to act so shocked. It's just a newspaper. Anyway, I've got places to be. Can I have my paper back?"

"Oh yes, of course. Thanks."

The man left, and then the Professor and Luke had a much needed conversation. The date on the newspaper was in the future.

"I didn't misread the date on that paper, did I?"

"I don't think so, Luke. It was dated 10 years in the future."

"So maybe the reason why nothing looks familiar is because we're in a London 10 years from our own."

"Perhaps, though I think the matter deserves more investigation. Whoever wrote that last letter assured us that we'd find proof of our time travel at Green Hospital. Let's make our way over there without further delay."

They made their way to Flatstone Street.

"This must be the big street that Max was talking about. Right, Flatstone Street."

"Excellent. If we continue north, the station should be on the right-hand side of the street."

"Then we're almost there. Let's keep moving, Professor!" Luke was very excited by this whole investigation. This seemed to be the biggest investigation that they had recently. Luke didn't know if he was in the future or not, but it was surely exciting! "Hmm? Hey, is it just me or is that man on the corner shaking?"

It was Hazel again. The man that had been terribly scared by their first meeting. Layton had hoped to undo his bad first impression.

"What do you want? Please don't hurt me! What's that? The station? Oh, it's just down the street. Don't come any closer. Just leave me alone!"

The man vanished again, and Layton was again disappointed. What had he done to get on this man's bad side?

"Hey, look! There's that family goon we saw earlier."

"He certainly dressed similarly, but I do believe that's a different fellow."

"Say, Professor, isn't that the logo for the underground railway?"

"Indeed it is. It took longer than expected, but we've finally arrived at the station."

Of course, before they went, the Family goon had something to say.

"If you don't want things to get messy, you'd better stop giving me the eye, kid."

"Oh! Sorry, sir! I didn't mean to stare."

Luke was confused that all of the members of the Family had something mean to say to him. What happened to "if you had nothing nice to say, say nothing at all?" The Professor did not see these men as kind, either. He thought that they could be nice men, just working for an evil man in Bostro. Nevertheless, they both knew Future Luke could give them the answers they needed. And they entered the station.

"We'll need to buy tickets to ride the subway. Do you think you can handle that, Luke?"

"Sure thing, Professor."

Luke went to the machine and selected the button for Auckland Lane. Two tickets came, and they rode the subway almost immediately.

"Well, that was easy. Look, Professor. We're just a few steps away from the hospital."

"Wonderful. Let's head over."

They entered the hospital, which looked nice, and talk to the extremely thin receptionist.

"Hello, there."

"Good day, madam. Would you mind helping us with something?"

"Sure. I've got nothing better to do today. This place is dead."

"We're here to visit someone in your care. Can you point us toward Room 312?'

"Room 312, huh? Let's see. Ah, Dr. Andrew Schrader. Sure."

"WHAT? I'm sorry, but did you just say Andrew Schrader?"

Dr. Andrew Schrader was one of Layton's best friends. He was Layton's professor and now studies archaeology with him some of the time. Andrew was getting up there in age, but to be in the hospital. Layton didn't know what could have happened to the doctor.

"Mind your volume, sir. You are in a hospital, after all. So, are you two relatives of Dr. Schrader?"

"No. Actually, I'm a former student of his."

"And your little friend there?"

"He's well…"

"Doctor Schrader's pupil's apprentice!" When you think about it, that's pretty far out there."

"Oh. Old 312 has quite the fan club, doesn't he? Anyway, you can see him if you like, but I'm going to need you to fill out some paperwork first."

"What kind of paperwork?"

"Oh, it's just hospital policy. Don't worry, though. It's only one question."

The paperwork was in the form of a puzzle, as usual. Not anything too difficult. Layton solved the puzzle, but had one question in his mind. How did Andrew Schrader get here? He would've had to go to the clock shop. But how could he know about that?

"Thank you very much. You can visit Dr. Schrader now. His room's on the third floor. Just take those stairs over there."

They climbed two flights of stairs to get to the third floor. Then, Luke spotted the third floor and they both went inside. There was a hospital bed, and an opened window was next to it. It had all the machines that a normal hospital room would have.

"Strange. No one's in here. Perhaps the receptionist gave us the wrong—"

Just then, Dr. Schrader emerged. His hair, mustache, and beard had all gone white as snow. His eyelids were barely staying open. Andrew had looked so much older than the Professor remembered him.

"Who's that? Oh, it's you, Hershel! And little Luke!"

"Andrew?"

"Why the quizzical look, Hershel? Have I got food in my beard again? Oh, don't mind that, my boy. Sit down, sit down! You know, I've been hearing some very unsavory rumors about you recently. But I don't believe a single one of them!"

"What sort of unsavory rumors?"

"What sort, you ask? The ones about the whojiwhatsit. The thingamawhizzer. The…oh, drat. I seem to have forgotten them completely. Well, never mind all that then."

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Andrew?"

"Yes, it has. I trust you're still spending the majority of your waking hours doing research."

"What can I say? I learned from the best. Having an office to work out of has made it easier, though."

"You've got your own office? Oh, what am I saying? You've had one for some time, haven't you? And you deserve it. I've seen my share of scholars, but you were the brightest to ever set foot in my classroom."

Luke knew his Professor was very smart. "Naturally!"

"Whoops! With all the excitement, I nearly forgot to take my medicine. Silly me. I've got the bottle right here, but the dosage for this prescription is quite tricky. Luke, be a good boy and help me figure out how much of this I need to drink."

After helping Dr. Schrader, Layton decided that it was time to go.

"Well, Andrew, it has been wonderful seeing you, but it's growing late. We ought to be on our way."

"Ah, busy as always, I see. Do drop by again when you have the time, won't you? Oh, but before you go, I have something of yours I should return. I've been looking after her for some time now, you see. I won't be needing her anymore, so you can take her away. The old dear's parked around back."

"I see. Thank you." The doctor gave him the keys to an old car.

"It was a pleasant surprise to see you today, Hershel. I know you're in a bit of a hurry, so take those keys to the rear of the building."

They went to the back of the hospital, and found the car. It was nice to have the keys, but how could Schrader have gotten here and have them?

"Oh my gosh!" That was Luke's reaction to seeing the beat up, red car for the first time. It looked like it had been their rusting for ages.

"Why…this looks to be my car."

"I thought the same thing. Come to think of it, I've never seen anyone with such a funny-shaped car."

"Funny shaped? I'll have you know this is a classic."

"Judging by all the dust and dirt on it, it must be. I guess no one took care of the poor car the whole time it was parked out here."

"Yes, it does appear to have been left exposed to the elements for quite some time."

"Why don't we see if the car still runs? If it does, we won't need to depend on the subway anymore."

"That's an excellent suggestion, Luke."

"What's the matter, Professor?"

"Someone's installed a particular lock on the door. Who could have done such a thing?"

The Professor figured out that if you put the teeth of the two keys together, the openings make the number "47." The Professor put the number into the lock and it opened.

"There we are. It's finally open."

"All right! Start her up, Professor!"

"What's this? The engine won't start."

"Well, it has been 10 years since we last saw the Layton-mobile, Professor."

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was a broken part or two."

"Oh, look, Professor! There's something on the passenger seat!"

It was another letter from the Future Luke. It read:

"Professor, I hope by this point, you're convinced that this is the London of the future. Now that we are one the same page, I'd like to explain to you the secret that's plaguing London. However, I think it would be best to discuss this issue in person. Meet me at the Gilded 7 Casino on Flatstone Street. I'll be waiting for you there."

"Well, what do you say, Luke? Are you ready to meet your future self?"

"Honestly, I don't know. This whole situation has me feeling very strange."

"That's quite understandable."

"Hmm."

The Professor and Luke had yet another letter. There were plenty more mysteries to be solved, and they only knew one person that might be able to help them solve it. The Luke of the Future was waiting at the Gilded 7 Casino, and the Professor and Luke were either going to learn that this was a goose chase, or get some answers. They really hoped for the latter.


	3. Chapter 2: A Boy Named Luke

It was the third letter. The first letter from Future Luke had sent them to the Midland Road Clock Shop. When Cogg operated the biggest clock, something happened that sent them to a London that the Professor and Luke were unfamiliar with. The second letter arrived shortly after. It said to go to the Green Hospital. There, they found Layton's old professor, Dr. Andrew Schrader, in bad condition. He gave them keys to the old Layton-mobile. Inside the car, there sat the third letter. This letter stated that they would meet in person, alone, at the Gilded 7 Casino. The Professor and Luke hoped to get some answers from this mysterious person claiming to be Luke Triton from 10 years in the future. So, as they journey continued, number one on the priority list was going to the casino, and figuring out just what was going on and what had been "plaguing" London.

The first step in meeting future Luke was to leave the hospital, which they quickly did, and ventured down to the underground railway.

"Luke, if we're to visit the casino, we need to take the railway back to Flatstone Street."

"Ok, Professor."

Luke grabbed two tickets and they got on the railway, again. It wasn't long before they arrived at Flatstone Street, again.

"Here we are, back at Flatstone Street."

"Yes, but I don't see anything here that looks like a casino."

"I think our best bet is to ask a local."

"Oh, look! There's someone we can ask! Wait here, Professor."

While Luke tried to ask for directions for the Gilded Casino, his plan was halted due to yet another family goon.

"Kid, you've got exactly five seconds to top eyeballing me. One, two…"

"I'm very sorry sir!"

"I gather that didn't go to well?"

"Let's ask someone else, Professor. I can't even look at the without him snapping at me."

Professor cracked a rare joke. "And all this time I thought you had a talent for communicating with wild animals! Ha ha!" Again, it wasn't often he'd be relatively mean, but the men wouldn't even talk to you.

"Come on, Professor! It's no fair teasing me now. That guy was scary!"

"Now, now, don't look so sour. I was just trying to brighten your spirits with a joke. Why don't we find someone else to help us?" You'd think that some pedestrians would be more cooperative, but it seemed like the Family ruled everything, and the Professor had a bad feeling that the Family had something to do with this whole mystery. And the fact that people were scared of his hat. Could someone else have his hat? That was the only reasonable answer.

"The breeze blowing through town today sure is nice."

"I couldn't agree more."

"It's the perfect day to find a nice, grassy spot near the Thames. Or to go for a walk. Ah, I used to love walking with my hubby. Back then, he'd come home for dinner every night."

"Used to?"

"Sadly, those carefree walks ended when we moved here for his new job. They must be working him like a dog, because he hardly ever comes home."

The Professor did not know where the man worked, but there were no big buildings. In an attempt to find information, they talked to Hazel, who was always out. Hazel was scared of them, but never failed to give the Professor and Luke all the information that they needed at that time.

"What do you want from me? Don't hurt me! Please, I'm begging you!"

"I don't understand. Why are you so scared of me, sir?"

"You? No, it's your friend with the big hat there. Ah! He's looking right at me!"

Layton didn't know what to think. He was as polite and gentlemanly as possible, yet so many people were afraid of him, more specifically his top hat.

"Please calm down. I mean you no harm. You must have me confused with someone else. The only thing I want to know is the location of the Gilded 7 Casino. It's around here, is it not?"

Hazel put his arms up in front of his face so he didn't look at Hershel and said, "The casino? Oh I get it, you guys are testing me! You wanna see if Hazel's going to spill the beans!" This could not have been a more wrong assumption, as they meant no harm whatsoever. "And if I do, you're gonna send me on a one-way vacation to nowhere!"

"What are you talking about?" Luke said, confused.

"Somebody help me!" Terrified by the Professor and his questions, Hazel ran off. He had helped them before, but now it was just too much.

"And there he goes again."

"Poor fellow. It seems he's had a bad run-in with someone who looks like me."

"He's not the first person to react strangely to your hat."

"Yes, it seems my doppelganger has quite a fearsome reputation."

"Then maybe it makes sense to take your hat off for the time being. You know, to avoid confusion."

The Professor smiled when hearing Luke's statement. "Nonsense, Luke. A gentleman can't very well walk around with his head bare, now can he?"

"Um…I guess not." Luke had to admit that his blue hat was very comfortable. "Well, what's our next move?"

"That girl Becky from the hotel has been quite helpful, so why don't we go ask her for directions?"

They were fairly close to the hotel, so they talked to Becky.

"You're looking for the Gilded 7 Casino? Well, before you go, I think you ought to know that that establishment is a Family hangout."

"We appreciate your concern, Becky, but we really do need to go there."

"I understand. Oh, whew, Granny's asleep again. I don't think she'd be too keen on me directing you to, you know, a hotbed of criminal activity."

"We don't need to worry about our safety, do we? Not that I'm scared, or anything."

"Good! Bravery is an admirable, if not particularly helpful, character trait. Anyway! You know where Flatstone Station is, right? Just head straight north from the plaza in front of the station. You'll see the casino eventually."

"Aha! I had a feeling it was somewhere around there."

"You did? What tipped you off?"

"When we passed by the station last, one of the Family's goons was posted outside the path north. I thought there was something fishy about it, but I couldn't get past him to see what was up there."

"Well, that probably won't be a problem for you this time." She smiled. "Those goons move around from post to post pretty often."

"Good to know."

"Yeah, those goons aren't the brightest bunch. Anyway, go check for yourself. I'll bet you anything the path is open now. I—uh-oh…"

Luke and Becky's long conversation ended very abruptly by Becky's grandmother.

"Becky! These are our guests. I'm sure they have better things to do than listen to you blather at them."

"No need to worry, Margaret. Becky here was just giving us directions to our next destination," Layton explained.

"Oh, is that so? Well as long as she's being helpful."

They left the hotel, and walked by Max and some Family goons until they had pretty much reached Flatstone Street. Then, a parrot flew over them.

"Look at that bird in the sky over there, Professor! What beautiful plumage."

"That's no common bird, Luke. That's a parrot. How do you suppose it got there?"

"Let's ask him! Hiya, Mr. Parrot! Where'd you come from?"

"I think you may have been a bit too eager there, my boy. You scare him off!"

"I was just trying to be friendly…"

They got to Midland Road. The guard who had been blocking everything was gone. Luke noticed this fairly quickly.

"Look. The fellow who was standing guard here is gone."

"It seems Becky's guess was right on the money. Let's keep moving north.

As they were walking by, the Professor saw a woman walking by that looked familiar. Hershel's former girlfriend, Claire. He stood there, frozen, as the woman walked by. Claire wasn't with them anymore, but Hershel had a few memories. He remembered a time from 10 years ago when they were dating. At a restaurant they were talking. He did not have his top hat, but a red one instead. He had a red vest over a white shirt, nothing like his now usual attire.

"Oh, it's just beautiful, Hershel."

"Oh, do you really like it?"

"I don't just like it. I love it! Thank you so much."

"Picking out the right gift can be quite the puzzle."

"Lucky for me, every puzzle has answer. Isn't that what you always say?" They both giggled. Layton drank some red wine, and blushed.

"I've been thinking…"

"Go on."

"If I were to get the teaching job, then we…"

"I'm listening, Hershel," Claire said as Layton struggled to continue.

"Oh, um, I'll tell you later."

"Come on now. Tell me about these plans of yours!" Claire had light blonde hair and glasses.

"Oh, it was nothing. Now let's eat before our food gets cold."

"Hey! No fair changing the subject!"

"What are you talking about? I did nothing of the sort!" Claire laughed again.

"You must certainly did!"

Layton smiled when he thought about his past with Claire. But it also did bring back painful memories of what had happened to Claire. She was beautiful, possibly "the one."

"Professor? Is something the matter? You look dazed."

"I'm fine, Luke. My eyes seem to be playing tricks on me."

"Does this have something to do with that lady who just walked by?"

"It's probably nothing. She just reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago."

As they went to the casino, they were stopped by a man named Ward.

"And just where do you two think you're going?"

"We're on our way to meet someone at the Gilded 7 Casino."

"I see. Going to the casino to meet up with 'someone.' Yes, that's not suspicious at all."

Luke whispered to the Professor some comments. "Professor. I think this guy's trying to intimidate us."

"Quit it with all the whispering, boy! I'm right here, you know!"

"Oops! Um…sorry?"

"Excellent. Since you've owned up to all your rudeness, all is forgiven. That's a good boy."

"With all due respect sir, would you please let us pass? The hour grows late."

"But of course, my good man. That is, as soon as you solve your way through this puzzle of mine."

Layton solved the puzzle, eager to go meet up with the Luke of the future. They had only been in the fake London for a day, but Layton already had his suspicions. Call it the famous intuition, but something smelled fishy.

"Well done. You've proven yourself to me, so I will provide you with a valuable yet cryptic warning. Danger lurks about that hat of yours. You'd best watch yourself around here."

"Why is everyone so fixated on my hat? Do you know someone else with a hat like mine?"

"If I told you, it would kill all the suspense, wouldn't it? I'll leave that little mystery for you."

After another minute, they arrived at the Gilded 7 Casino. There was a fountain out front and a few black cars were to the right of it. The Gilded 7 had its name in the front, a picture of a slot machine under it. It was very bright and there were crowns all over the building.

"Wow! Now, that's a casino!" Luke seemed impressed by the size and look of the Gilded 7."

"I think it's safe to say we've found the Gilded 7."

"I can't wait to see what it looks like up close!"

Without any further ado, they tried to enter the casino. But it's never that easy, now is it? Someone has to get in your way.

"Good evening, sir. Can I please see your membership card?"

"What membership card?"

"The Gilded 7 Casino is a haven for society's finest ladies and gentleman to gather. We check membership cards to ensure that less savory types are kept out."

It was a very pale skinned man, on the chubby side with a suit on, and goggles covering his eyes. He had a pointy yellow hat resting upon his head.

"This is certainly the first I've heard of that policy. I don't suppose you'd be willing to make an exception for us."

The man, Harold, responded quickly. "Your hat shows you to be a man of impeccable character. Now we just need to test your intellect. If you can solve this puzzle, I'll let you in without a card this once."

"This fellow seems awfully focused on your hat as well."

"Naturally. Is there any greater proof of one's gentlemanly nature than a fine top hat?"

The puzzle was very difficult to an unobservant person's eye, but luckily for Layton, he was very used to just that kind of think, and just like that, they had gained entrance to the Gilded 7 Casino.

"Expertly solved, sir." You've certainly earned the right to enjoy our exclusive facilities. Welcome to the Gilded 7."

The Professor and Luke stepped into the Gilded 7. It was a large place where almost everything was golden. Golden walls, ceilings, tile floors, stairs, it was quite the shiny place.

"Just look at these fountains! And the floors! This place must have cost a fortune to build!"

"I know you're excited, Luke, but do try to keep your voice down."

In true Luke fashion, an apology followed. "Sorry, Professor. This place is just so impressive."

Many people were moving passed them, meeting people, or gambling.

"I understand the feeling. It's also quite large. Finding your future self in here may prove a challenge."

I suppose Layton had spoken too soon, because around a wall was a person walking slowly, in blue socks and brown shoes. He wore maroon pants and a navy blue shirt, darker than Luke's.

"So you're…"

"He's the future me?"

The Luke of the future revealed a white collared shirt and blue tie under his sports-coat, and a navy blue hat. He wore mostly what Luke did except bigger and darker. From a light blue to dark blue.

"It's good to finally meet you, Professor. Or rather, I suppose I should say it's nice to see you again. It's me, Luke Triton." Luke and Future Luke's eyes met instantly. Future Luke looked at his old self, and Luke believed that this was his body at age 20-21 or so.

"Hello, Luke."

"Um, hi, Professor. Oh, you're talking to him. This is going to take some getting used to."

"I can't believe how small I used to be."

"I'm not THAT small!"

"So, tell me—why exactly did you go through such pains to bring us here?"

"I'll be happy to tell you in just a moment. But before that, I'd just like to verify that I'm dealing with the real Professor Layton here."

Layton was a bit startled. "Who else would I be?"

"Allow me to explain. In my London, it's rare to find someone who doesn't know the name Hershel Layton. In fact, many imposters have came forth recently claiming to be him.

"Are you saying you think the Professor is a fraud?"

"Professor, if you think back on our adventures together, you may recall a man named Don Paolo. As you know, he was a master of disguise. How do I know the man before me now isn't Don Paolo in another of his costumes."

"Now, that's just rubbish and you know it!" Luke wasn't going to hold back on yelling at his future self. Professor was the real deal.

"Is it now? He's tricked us before, who's to say he couldn't do it again?"

"Very well. I'll prove along. How do you propose I prove my identity?"

Future Luke paced. "It's quite simple, really." He pointed his finger at the Professor. "I challenge you to a battle of wits!"

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

"As a cautious man, I'm sure you have questions about my identity as well. So that we each prove our identities, I propose we demonstrate our respective intellects. I've prepared a puzzle that can only be solved by someone as insightful as the Professor. Should you find the solution, I'll give you a chance to present me with a similar challenge. If I am who I say I am, I should have no trouble solving whatever you throw my way, should I? Let's get started. Before us are four cards arranged according to a set of conditions. Here they are:

-First, a heart is next to a diamond.

-Second, a club is not next to a spade.

-Finally, a heart is directly to the right of a club.

Using these three conditions, I challenge you to find the spade amongst these four cards."

The Professor was happy that his apprentice challenged him to a battle of wits. However, he spent no time chatting and got down to business with the puzzle. After trying each possible solution, the Professor answered that the spade was in the farthest left space, and the order was club, heart, diamond, and spade.

"Yes, placing the spade there results in the correct answer. Impressive, Professor."

"Thank you. Now, if I may present you with a puzzle of my own design."

"Nothing would make me happier."

"Good. I enjoyed the idea behind your puzzle, so if you don't mind, I'd like to do something similar. Here are the conditions for my four cards:

-A club sits directly to the right of a heart.

-A diamond is on the far left or right and has a heart next to it.

-Finally, a club is also the far right or left card.

Using these conditions, I challenge you to find the spade."

Future Luke also tried every possibility, but he just could not find an answer to his former mentor's puzzle.

"You almost had me there, Professor. But, as you know, this puzzle is flawed. It's unsolvable."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I tried several solutions, but none work for the conditions you've set forth."

"Oh, really?" Layton had fooled Future Luke. "Tell me, did I ever state that the four cards on the table contained one card from each suit?"

"So are you saying…there is no spade?"

Layton revealed the four cards in his puzzle. The order was diamond, heart, another heart, and lastly a club. Layton went on to explain.

"Precisely. This was a trick question, but it makes a pertinent point. In the puzzle you issued me, you failed to specify that the four cards included one from each suit. When you leave in a loophole like that, it can make the puzzle unsolvable. This same omission can also open the door to alternate solutions. You intentionally presented me with a puzzle that, when examined closely, is actually incomplete. The real test you set out for me was seeing if I'd catch on, was it not?"

Future Luke smiled when noticing that this was, indeed, the Professor.

"It seems you're the genuine article, Professor."

"I'm glad to see I've finally convinced you."

"To be honest, I was convinced from the beginning. But I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to pit myself against my mentor in a battle of wits."

"I'm flattered…I suppose."

Luke stepped in, a little anxious to know the truth. "Out with it already! Why did you call us here?"

"There are too many eyes on us here. There's a supply room in the back where we can talk. Follow me."

The Professor and Luke (the little one), followed the Luke of this supposed "future" back to a place where they could talk in absolute silence.

"Professor Layton, Luke, welcome to London of the future."

"Hmm."

"Still not convinced? You met with Dr. Schrader, didn't you? What did you think after seeing him? I'm sure you noticed the toll time has taken on the good doctor."

"Yes, that seemed to be the case."

"And what of fair London herself? You've walked around enough now to see how it's transformed. Can you imagine a 24-hour casino in this sleepy part of town 10 years ago?"

"Everything's changed so much. What happened to this city?"

"A genius appeared. An evil genius who turned the city on its ear."

Luke had a guess. "Oh, I know where this is going! Don Paolo took over the city, didn't he!"

"Don Paolo? Oh, no. I'm talking about a truly brilliant man. Someone the three of us all know quite well."

Little Luke again was tired of waiting for information. "Well, if it's not Don Paolo, then who is it?" Luke could not have believed the answer he was about to get.

"What do you think, Professor?"

"I'm not sure."

"I thought you'd say that."

"Who is it? I've got to know."

"His name is Hershel Layton. That evil genius is you, Professor."

"WHAT!" Luke was shocked.

"I was afraid you'd say that." That was the voice of Hershel learning that he was the most evil mastermind in London's history.

"That can't possibly be right!"

"I'm sad to say that there's no mistake here. They call him the devil in the top hat, and he rules London from the shadows. This is common knowledge to everyone in London."

"Tell me more, Luke."

"More? I don't know any more than you do, Professor."

"No, I'm referring to the other Luke. Goodness, this is getting rather complicated, isn't it? Tell me Luke—how did I rise to rule over all of London?"

"Where to begin…Here, Professor, surely you remember this?" He handed them an article about the time-travel demonstration.

"Of course. This is an article about the accident that happened just the other day."

"Ha ha ha! Yes, to you two, I suppose it was just the other day. However, here it's been a full 10 years since that fateful day."

"Whoa."

"It was a dark period for London. You see, the Prime Minister vanished, leaving Parliament in utter chaos."

"Yeah, everyone in Parliament is in a state of panic." This was a conversation between the two Luke's now. "Um, in our time, I mean."

"Professor, you yourself witnessed the accident that changed London forever. The demonstration was a total failure."

"Yes, both the prime minister and that scientist—"

"You mean Dr. Stahngun?"

"Yes, that's right. Several people, including those two, disappeared in the blast. It seems likely the force of the explosion killed them."

"Didn't the paper say that a few of Dr. Stahngun's assistants vanished in the blast as well?"

Future Luke decided to jump in. "That's the story in the papers. But what would you say if I told you Stahngun was still alive?"

"I'd say it's impossible."

"Well, then you'd be wrong. Dr. Stahngun escaped the blast, but he decided to go into hiding to avoid fallout from the experiment."

"Well, the man was responsible for the loss of our national leader."

"Desperate for a place to lay low, the doctor was given shelter from an unlikely person. You, Professor."

"Me? Why would I aid a man responsible for this pandemonium?"

"My question exactly. In the months that followed the explosion, you slowly grew distant from me. Before long, you began fraternizing with key figures of the criminal underworld."

Luke had his mouth open the entire time that this was being said. "The Professor? Never!"

"Don't be so sure. Time has a way of changing people, Luke. It was clear that something about Stahngun's research captivated you, Professor. You couldn't stop talking about time travel. You seemed possessed by the idea of changing the past."

"Changing the past?"

"Dr. Stahngun was very interested in continuing his research, but he needed financial backing to do it. So you used your superior intellect to assume control of London's underworld."

There you had it. Professor Layton had completely abandoned Luke, turned evil, and took control of London? But the Professor was still very, very gentlemanly. It bothered Luke that his future self would even suggest that this could have happened. Layton could barely believe it himself. He would never get involved with no-goods with criminal records.

"No way."

"Of course, there were those who tried to stop you. But no one was a match for your smarts. Before long, you were raking in the pounds from all sorts of dirty business. With all the funding he needed, it wasn't long before Stahngun completed his work."

Could Dr. Stahngun have really built a working time-machine, not long after his recent demonstration? It seemed hard to believe, but I guess anything's possible. Of course, Layton wasn't entirely convinced that all the work was done.

"Completed it, you say?"

"That's right. He built the time-machine in the Midland Road Clock Shop. Though, I suppose 'completed' is an odd choice of words…as the machine is far from complete."

"How so?"

"It doesn't allow users to select their destination. Nor where they will reappear in the flow of time. It simply opens a hole of sorts in between two areas of time."

"You mean a wormhole!"

"Precisely. And by sheer chance…the time-machine opened a wormhole in the clock shop that spans the 10 years between our two times. This gives us the ability to move back and forth between your present and mine." Future Luke looked proud of himself for knowing all the information.

"So, you used the wormhole to get the message to us and to bring us here. But one thing is bothering me. This wormhole was obviously very important to my future self. Surely, the Layton of this era must keep a close eye on the place. How did you gain access to it?"

"I'll get to that, but right now there's more pressing business I'd like to attend to."

"Go on then. Tell us why you called us here."

"Always one step ahead of me. You haven't lost your touch, Professor. I wish to enlist your help in stopping the future Hershel Layton."

Layton was a bit confused. "You want me to stop myself?"

"Even as we speak, future Layton is racing to complete a fully operational time-machine. He's been ducking back into the past to gather every bright scientist working in time travel."

"But why bother going back through time to find scientists? There must be plenty here."

"Actually, many of the experts in the field were lost when Stahngun's demonstration went awry. Therefore, Layton had no choice but to travel back to before the blast to gather talent. Things are bad already…But if Layton manages to build a working time-machine, there's no telling what could happen." You could tell that Future Luke was sad, and maybe scared when talking about those possibilities. Someone has to stop him from completing his scheme. But the only person up to the challenge—"

"Is me. That is what you were going to say, isn't it?"

"Exactly. We have to fight fire with fire. No one else stands a chance against him."

"But how? I'm unfamiliar with my current surroundings, and I have no clue where to find the man."

"That's one obstacle we'll have to overcome together. Layton's actions are shrouded in secrecy. But his base of operations is well known. We can start our search for him there."

"You mean this casino isn't the future Professor Layton's headquarters?"

"No, this facility is just one of the many ways he makes money. His actual headquarters is in the heart of Chinatown."

"Let's visit the place and see if we can't learn something more." Now, Layton was angry and wanted to stop his future self. It was time to get down to business. "Just so you know, Luke, there's still quite a bit I find dubious about this situation. Much is still unclear. But the only way to get to the bottom of this is to meet the man claiming to be me."

"Somehow, I figured my brief explanation wouldn't be enough to convince you, Professor. Ha ha ha!"

Somehow Luke was kind of left out of the majority of this conversation. "Don't forget me! I'm coming to."

"Of course you are. If I can't count on myself for help, who can I count on?"

"Thinking about what you just said makes me feel kind of…dizzy."

"Ha ha! Well, I hope you get used to it soon. I'm going to need your help getting to the bottom of all this. Oh, yes, and there's one more interesting fact you should know about, Professor."

"Yes?"

"There's no record of a scientist matching Dr. Stahngun's name and description. The name's a fake."

"Really now?"

"Whoever he really was, he made an effort to hide his real identity from the people at the demonstration."

This was what the Professor had meant by "odd" while he and Luke were at the demonstration. "Now that you mention it, few people at the demonstration seemed to know the man. What would motivate Stahngun to use a false name? Just what was he planning?"

"Another interesting question we'll hopefully answer along the way."

"It doesn't make any sense. Hmm."

"What are you thinking, Professor?"

Future Luke interrupted. "We can talk more as we go. For now, we need to head back to Flatstone Street." They all left the storage area and began to walk out of the casino. Layton had received more answers than he thought he would, but even more questions about his future self, Luke's future self, and Dr. Stahngun arose. Before they could leave the casino, they were stopped.

"Oh, there you are, boss!" It was Bostro. He was a huge thug with a red hat. He had an mustache, and a huge body. He looked like he could crush them in an instant. His look was finished off with a huge scar on the side of his forehead. The man barely had any teeth.

"Oh."

"Oi, what are YOU doing wearing the boss's getup? This your idea of a joke?"

"No, no, not at all—"

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've seen any of you 'round here before."

"Yes, well, we don't often get a chance to visit this fine establishment of yours." Layton was trying to be as peaceful as possible with Bostro.

"Dunno about that, but I'm gonna need you to come with me for some questioning. This way, you three."

Future Luke knew who this was and stood in the way as an act of bravery. "Professor, run away while you can!"

Bostro knocked Future Luke away and he hit the ground hard. Bostro had just taken him out in a split-second. "Ow!"

"Oh, no!"

Layton had an idea. "Quickly, you two. This way!"

"Don't let him escape! Ya hear?"

"Don't let him escape!" Now, possibly hundreds of goons showed up, all in the same outfit and armed with pistols. They began firing everywhere, and caused much damage as bystanders ran out of the casino. The gang hid behind a slot machine and Layton began to think.

The men swarmed the whole casino and fired at will at everything. Things were being broken at an unbelievable rate, not that it was a good thing at all.

"We're surrounded, Professor!"

"Calm yourself, Luke. I have a plan."

"But, wait! Where are you going?" A bullet nearly hit Luke, causing him to scream in terror. The Professor had watched as a slot machine broke into many pieces, and rushed towards it. Future Luke caught on and met the Professor.

"Do you see a way out of this?"

"I do, but I'll need your help!"

The Professor knew that this could be a life-or-death situation, and that the shots were not slowing down. So he put his brain to good use. With the help of Future Luke, he assembled the pieces of the slot machine into a gun, and Future Luke filled it with coins. He began to counterstrike Bostro and his worthless goons. He had a smirk on his face and then went into rapid-fire. The goons were hit and knocked out by the force of the speeding coins. The head goons and Bostro were now trying to escape the ongoing blast. Teary-eyed, Bostro surrendered and said, "We can't win this fight! Fall back, boys! Fall back!"

The Professor dropped the gun and smiled. Future Luke smiled back with him. Layton then said, "I say, that was a close one."

Little Luke finally appeared after being gone for the majority of the fight. "We gave them a taste of their own medicine!" He was very overjoyed and proud. Until Future Luke mentioned that he hadn't done anything.

"Funny…I don't remember you helping."

"Look, you're me! That means I get some credit for assisting," Luke fired back, practically deflecting Future Luke's comment about him.

"Oh, is that so?"

The Professor smiled and laughed after hearing the statement. "That's very…interesting logic."

So the gang successfully defended themselves in their first real fight with the Family. They all laughed about it, and explained how they thought they would die. All in all, it was an amazing success. Now, armed with Future Luke and a whole arsenal of new information, The Professor and Luke are now going to try to see if they can't stop the Future Professor Layton. Things are never as easy as they seem, but hopefully they wouldn't have too much trouble, or face another life-or-death situation like the one that had just occurred.


	4. Chapter 3: The Enigmatic Future

The mission was clear. The Future Professor Layton had to be stopped, or there was no telling what the man could accomplish. This was a serious thing. The Professor, Luke, and Future Luke had all been fired at continuously. So it was no game. The Professor had become an evil overlord in the ten years between the present and the future they were currently in. Why is still the big mystery, and Bill Hawks was still missing. But you could only go one step at a time.

"So, um, Mr. Triton…" Luke had to admit it felt weird calling himself that. "…where are we headed?"

"Luke, please call me anything but Mr. Triton. It's really strange being called that by myself."

"It's pretty awkward for me too. But what else am I supposed to call you?"

"I don't see why you both can't be called Luke. Should the need to distinguish you two apart arise, you can be Big Luke, and you Little Luke."

"I'm not too keen on Little Luke, but it beats all this confusion." Really, Luke didn't like being called little or small on any occasion. He was just an average schoolboy, so there was no need to specifically call him youngster or little man.

"Whatever you say goes, Professor. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance again, Little Luke."

Luke smiled and adjusted his hat. "Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine, Big Luke!"

"Now where were we? Oh, yes. There's something I need to check up on. Professor, on your way to the casino, did you pass a restaurant in the shopping arcade?"

"The one near the southern exit of the arcade?"

"That's the one. We'll head there first. A friend of mine is waiting for us there."

Still being fairly close to the exit of the Gilded 7, they wanted to waste no time going to the restaurant. For all they knew, Bostro had more backup.

After leaving the Gilded Casino's street, they saw a man with a big nose and a white coat. Not anything like the family's, it was more of a lab coat. Little Luke greeted the man.

"Why are you sneaking up on me like that? You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, sir. I didn't think a simple hello would scare you so much."

"I was lost in thought and didn't see you there. Anyway, I have things to take care of. Good-bye."

The man left the area immediately; perhaps he was startled by the Professor's hat and thought him to be the Layton of the future.

"How odd."

"What's odd, Professor?"

"Take a look at the ground, Luke." The ground had wet shoeprints from the man that they were just talking to, although it hadn't rained a bit since the Professor and Luke arrived.

"That man left wet footprints, even though it hasn't rained since we got here. So, why were his shoes wet?"

"I haven't the foggiest."

So the three of them continued the trip to the restaurant.

"Just a little farther, Luke. We're almost to the arcade now."

"I know. We walked through there earlier."

"Oh, right. Of course you did. You mentioned that before, didn't you?"

"Yeah…Hey, you know, there's something I've been wondering about."

"What's on your mind?"

"Well, a time-machine able to take people to any point in time could really change the world. Not just that—it could improve people's lives!"

"Yes, it certainly has the potential to do that."

"So, even though the time-machine could do so much for people, you want to stop it from being made."

"Thing about this scenario. Imagine there's this bully who's always giving you trouble."

"Go on." Luke listened carefully, as he idolized his future self.

"Now, let's say you had that time-machine we've been talking about. Would you travel back in time to when that bully was a bratty five-year-old and whale on him?"

"Of course not! That'd be cruel!" He began to understand where this whole thing was going.

"Of course you wouldn't, because you've got a good heart. But imagine the damage someone less kind could do with a machine like that."

"I guess I never thought of it that way. We've got to stop that machine from being built!"

As they continued their path, they found the restaurant and also the man with the newspaper from earlier.

"How've you two been? Word is there was a shoot-out at the Gilded 7 Casino."

"Wow—that made it to the papers already?"

"Seems some cuckoos went in there and tried to run off with the day's profits. When the casino security staff caught them red-handed, the place turned into the Wild West!"

"What? But that's not how it happened at all!"

"Whoa, now! Don't shoot the messenger! I'm just telling you what the paper says."

"Well, the paper's wrong."

"Oh, yeah? How do you know you're not the one who's wrong?" The man ended the conversation there, obviously confused about Luke's knowledge.

"Why would the paper print lies?"

"I hate to say it, but I think the Family controls the media here. The papers print what they're told to."

"Look! There's the restaurant!"

"Is this the place you had in mind, Big Luke?"

"Yes, this is the one. Let's head in."

They reentered the restaurant, which was now open, and looked around.

"Luke, do you see that man in black over there? Does he seem familiar to you?" Big Luke was talking about the man who had delivered them the letter leading them to the Hospital.

"Yeah! He's the one who brought us that letter from you."

Big Luke approached the man as if he was a close, friend, which he was. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Shipley."

"Not at all. I just got here a moment ago myself." He was dressed the same as before, with the mailman's suit.

"Though you've all met before, I don't think you've ever had the proper introduction. This is my good friend, Shipley. Shipley has played a vital role in the effort to bring you and Little Luke to our time."

"Pleased to meet you, Shipley."

"Likewise, Professor. I'm sorry I had to be so brief with you when we last met. Luke here told me I shouldn't share any details until he had a chance to speak with you himself."

"Don't give it another thought. Luke needed to test us before sharing the details of his plan."

"Shipley, did you manage some reconnaissance work in Chinatown, as I asked?"

"I did indeed, Luke. That filthy scumbag Layton—" He looked at Layton and gave his apologies. "Er, apologies, Professor. That would be the Evil Layton I'm referring to."

Big Luke responded, "The Professor is apprised of the situation. Do continue."

Layton maintained I smile throughout the whole conversation, and didn't seem shaken that he had to stop himself.

"Right. You know the Towering Pagoda located in Chinatown? Apparently, evil Layton is holding those scientists captive there. It seems he has them working on something."

This was news to the Professor and Little Luke, who had not even heard of Chinatown yet.

"So the scientists are in the tower itself. This is going to make things very difficult." Apparently, this revelation put a wrench in one of Big Luke's plans. He looked disappointed.

"I also heard another peculiar rumor while I was about town."

"Yes?"

"Word has it that the prime minister who disappeared 10 years ago is being held up there too."

Big Luke seemed very shocked by this possible discovery. "What?"

"Bill Hawks…" He remembered how Dr. Stahngun had invited Bill to step inside the time-machine. How he smiled as he made what may have been his last steps. The demonstration was a total failure and it all exploded. No one saw Prime Minister Bill Hawks after that fateful moment.

"He went missing the day of the accident."

"He's been missing for 10 years. Do you suppose evil Layton might have abducted the prime minister in addition to all those scientists?"

"We won't know until we check the facts for ourselves. Big Luke, you seemed apprehensive at the mention of the Towering Pagoda. What is this place?" It seemed as if Layton had picked up on the fact that Luke reacted nervously when the Towering Pagoda was brought up.

"The Towering Pagoda is the Family's stronghold, and it sits by a sea of warehouses in Chinatown. To complicate matters, the whole of Chinatown is controlled almost exclusively by the Family. That means even getting within walking distance won't be easy."

Knowing the difficulty of the mission, Layton responded to Big Luke with a plan. "Be that is it may, we need to head to the source of this madness if we are to uncover the truth. Can you guide us safely to the tower?"

"Infiltrating a place like that is going to take a bit of preparation. Why don't I split off for a bit and see if I can secure a safe route to the tower for us. Go on and set out for Chinatown without me. Shipley can tell you how to get that far. All right?"

"Very well."

"Good. Now I need to get moving. Be careful out there." Little Luke didn't want his future self to leave. He wanted and was eager to learn a lot more about who he was going to become.

"Wow, he sure took off in a hurry," Luke said in a disappointed tone.

"Shipley, we need to get to Chinatown. What's the best way there?"

"Let's see…I'd say your best bet is to head back north on Flatstone Street. As you make your way toward the casino, there's a small set of stairs that go off to the right. Did you see them before?" Shipley waited for an answer.

"Ah, yes. Now that you mention it, I do recall passing by an area that fits that description."

"Good. Head up those stairs and follow the narrow path at the top until you hit the riverbank. From there, just follow the path you're on and it'll take you straight into Chinatown."

Luke had already witnessed Big Luke leave, and didn't want Shipley to leave also. "You're not coming with us, Shipley?"

"I wish I could, but I've got to stay here and wait for word from you're older self."

"Very well. Thank you for your assistance, Shipley. Come, Luke. We mustn't dillydally here."

Shipley felt a little sad, so he wanted to give them a bit of warning. "Take care of yourself out there! If you run into any trouble, you can always find me here."

They were in front of a hotel when they saw a women with some with some cookies, and Luke couldn't help but stop and chat.

"The weather sure is nice today, don't you think?"

"Sure, it's not bad, I guess…"

"On days like this, I always bake cookies. Thing is, I haven't been able to enjoy any of them 'cause of this problem I'm having. Would you mind helping me with my conundrum? I'll give you some cookies for your trouble!"

Luke eyes widened at the opportunity. "Free cookies? Well, who am I to refuse someone in need?" The women, Minnie, recognized that Luke was in it for the cookies, but didn't mind and let him solve the puzzle for her.

"Cookies always taste so much better when you share them with somebody, don't you think?"

"Oh, completely." Luke spoke as he took a larger than life bite out of the cookie.

"Glad you think so too!"

The Family goon that was in front of the hotel actually showed some emotion, and it was sadness. They figured they'd try to be nice, and see what happened now that the man was upset about something.

"Aw, man."

"Why the long face?"

"Bostro just gave me and earful for loafing. He said a monkey could do a better job than me. Some leader, right? He really knows how to boost morale, doesn't he? Wait a sec…Why am I spilling Family secrets to you?"

"I'm not quite sure."

"Ooh! Think you're pretty smart getting me to open up like that? Let's see how smart you look after my puzzle stumps you, short pants!"

SIDENOTE: GETTING KIND OF ANNOYED OF PUZZLES- (1 PUZZLE LATER)

"Wow, that dopey expression of yours really threw me off, kid. But you're smarter than you look!"

The Professor and Luke made their way down to Flatstone Street. There weren't as many people on the streets, so they figured it was probably a Saturday. Who works or goes to church or anything on Saturday?"

But he did see one person that looked familiar. It was the mysterious woman that looked like Claire, Layton's girlfriend from ten years ago. As she turned the corner, Layton started to run after her. When he turned the corner, the woman was not there. She had vanished from sight, and Layton accepted that she was not Claire. He looked in a mirror at his hat, and then began to reminisce about the night that Claire had given him his famous top hat.

"Here you go."

"What's this now?" Layton was still in red and white, with a red cap on top of his head.

"Open it and see!" She had a big square blue-green box with a red ribbon on top. Layton stood up, and opened the box revealing the very top hat that he was still wearing today.

"A hat?"

Claire smiled and looked up at Layton. "For the newly appointed professor. Congratulations!"

Layton accepted the gift. "Thank you."

"You're a full-fledged member of the academic community now." She went over and took off Layton's old hat. "So you've got to look the part!" She then picked up the new hat, which was now very recognizable and placed it upon the Professor's head. "Very dashing, Hershel. The picture of a true gentleman."

"A true gentleman? Hmm…" He started to take off the hat.

"No! Leave it on! It suits you. It really does!" She gave another smile and stared at Hershel. "So no taking it off. Oh, look at the time! I didn't realize how late it was! I have to go to the lab." She then picked up her white lab coat and put it on. "We're running a very important experiment today. Let's continue this conversation over dinner tonight. Oh, and promise me you'll wear the hat. It's not your usual style, but keep an open mind. After all, isn't that what a gentleman does?"

She then left and dashed off. This was when Layton started trying to really be a true gentleman, and when he started using the "true gentleman" quotes more often. Claire was the love of his life, and when she left, the Professor blushed, something he did very rarely. He adjusted the hat, proud to own it, and he was truly happy and joyful.

Then the Professor realized that this was just a memory, and adjusted to the real world.

"Did you see that, Professor? Wasn't that the same woman we saw earlier?"

"…I suppose it was."

"You seem distracted, Professor. Are you all right?"

"…What was that?" The Professor was still thinking about the woman. "Oh, right. I'm fine."

"If you say so. Oh, look at that. I bet these are the stairs Shipley mentioned."

"I could've sworn that was Claire. But it couldn't be."

He remembered what Shipley had told them earlier. "Word has it that the prime minister who disappeared 10 years ago is being held up there too." He thought about that. "Perhaps the prime minister wasn't abducted 10 years ago. Could he have been brought to the future, like Luke and me? What if all this talk of time travel is real?" He still wasn't buying that they were in the future, but he had to play along. "If so, then maybe that WAS Claire. No, it defies all logic. Claire can't be here. After that awful day, there's no way."

After climbing the stairs, they noticed that there was a statue on a side of the walkway.

"Do you suppose that bronze statue depicts some sort of local hero? I'm going to have a quick look."

Under further examination, there was a man who looked much like Layton with a walking cane next to a boy, who looked much like Luke who was reading a book. They were both looking at each other, smiling happily.

"Say, Professor, the man in the statue has the same hat as yours!"

"Ha ha! So he does! If I'm the man in the statue, does that mean you're the boy there?"

Luke denied that it could be him. "Ha ha! He doesn't look a thing like me! Oh, there's a description of the statue here. Let's see. It seems our friend here was some sort of famous author."

"An author, you say? Not a professor?"

"Can you imagine if he was! Now, that would be quite a coincidence! Let's see what else it says. The fellow used to write big, complicate books. But that all changed because of the boy here. The boy was sick, and to cheer him up, the man wrote an adventure novel for people of all ages. I guess the book was so successful that he went on to write more of them."

"What a heartwarming story."

"Oh, but that's not all, Professor. I'll read you the rest. 'In the end, the little boy was taken by his illness. However, the extraordinary friendship between the author and the boy would remain forever.' I can't believe how sad that ending is." Luke looked very upset to hear that the boy died.

"There, there. It's not all bad, my boy. It sounds like the two found true friendship in each other. Some people go through their whole lives without experiencing that."

"I suppose so. It's still sad, though."

"Look here, it says, 'In memory of an extraordinary and everlasting friendship.' Wouldn't it be wonderful if our friendship grew to those heights?"

Luke was upset. "What do you mean 'if?' Our friendship is already extraordinary and everlasting."

"Now, now, Luke. I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers. You're right. We're very good friends. You're not upset, are you?"

Still angry, Luke replied, "Why would I ever be upset? Anyway, we'd better get going."

"Oh, dear…"

They kept going until they reached a dark alleyway.

"Is this really the way to Chinatown? It's awfully dirty…and dark."

"Why the sudden apprehension? Does this place frighten you, my boy?"

"Me? Scared? No way! I just want to get out of here. Let's go!" Luke really was a bit scared.

"Now, Luke, don't just run off! Be careful! You could slip!"

Just then, Luke took a spill on a banana peel. "Whoa! Ow! Ow ow ow Ow!"

"Oh, dear. Now what did I just tell you?"

Luke was a bit ticked off. It appeared that the Professor was smiling in the aftermath of Luke's fall. "Professor, are you smiling right now?"

The Professor then turned serious. "Smiling? Me? Certainly not! Are you quite all right?"

"I just banged up my knee a little. I'll walk it off."

"Oh, good. I was worried for a moment. Let's go."

They found a very confused man that was in another alley.

"Hey, little man. You ever been so bored you could keel over? Me too. Like right now."

"Why are you so bored?"

"Well, mostly 'cause I got nothing to do. But also 'cause I sort of lost my life and now I can't find it."

"How does one lose one's life?"

"A while back, this guy tells me I can make money hand over fist doing easy work. I was out of a job at the time, so I figure why not, right?"

"Makes sense."

"Yeah, I think so too, until I realize sweetheart gig isn't so sweet, you know? Guy throws me in a dark hole and has me digging all day and night. I bust my hump 24-7."

"It sounds like whatever he was paying you, it wasn't worth it."

"I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet! When I finally finish the job, I head home, right? But everything gets all switched around while I'm in the hole, and I can't find my family or house!"

"OH MY GOSH! Maybe you traveled through time like we did!"

"Who what where now? I don't really follow you, but I do know I've been out here on my own for a while."

The Professor thought about what that man had just said, and it sounded awfully strange. Especially the digging the hole part. He wondered just what the employer was doing.

While walking the path, something on the side of the path broke. Like a wall.

"Yikes! It broke!"

"Well, what do you expect when you go around poking at everything?"

"But I wasn't tapping that hard!"

"Luke."

"Sorry. I should probably be more careful."

"I agree. Now let's see what kind of damage you've caused here. What's this? I do believe this leads somewhere interesting. Let's have a look at what's on the other side."

"But…isn't this trespassing? Professor, wait up!"

"Ah, so that's where this leads?" This was the spot in the Gilded 7 where they talked to Big Luke- the storage area.

"Can we leave now, Professor? The casino staff will NOT be happy about this if they find out."

"You're such a worrywart, Luke!"

"Maybe so, but I still think we should leave right away!"

They left the place and continued to go to the place that Shipley had mentioned.

"Looks like we're on the right track. Here's the river Thames."

"Indeed, and it looks as majestic as ever."

"I suppose some parts of London never change, even after 10 whole—Hey, that wasn't there before."

"I see you've noticed it too, Luke." Luke was pointing to a lighthouse by the river.

"That has to be the biggest lighthouse I've ever seen, and it sure wasn't there before."

"It's in almost pristine condition, so it must have been built fairly recently."

A man stopped them as they continued.

"Good day, you two. Isn't the view here positively gorgeous?"

"Yes, it's quite nice."

"It's nothing short of breathtaking."

"Professor, look at this guy. Do you suppose he could be part of the Family?" He wore purple with a teal bow tie.

"Now, you listen boy! I'm standing right here! If you have something to say, say it to my face! What's more, I don't like appreciate being associated with those drably dressed ruffians. Look at this suit, boy. Do you see that switchwork? This was custom-made in Italy! Italy, I say!"

"Ever so sorry, sir. I meant no offense! It was foolish of me to think you were part of that bunch."

"Well, as long as you acknowledge your mistake, I'm willing to let bygones be bygones this once. But just so there's no doubt as to my identity, allow me to introduce myself. Before you stands London's most distinguished, dashing, and debonair young man. The name's Graham. I would tell you to remember the name, but I know you'll never forget it!"

The very cocky young man (who looked to be in his forties, so much for young,) looked at Luke for confirmation.

"Got it! Graham, London's most distinguished, dashing, and, um…I forgot the last part. But I won't forget the name, I promise!"

The forty year old (take that, Mr. Youngster) stood there, allowing them to pass. After that there was a bridge, and a man who looked to be a scientist, in a lab coat, had wet clothes.

"Oh, hello there."

"Say, do you happen to know if this is the way to Chinatown?"

"Yeah, this path will take you there. Probably."

"Probably? Haven't you taken this path before?"

"No way. I've just got this feeling that something could happen to me down there. Something bad. Like, what if I had a run-in with the Family? That would get messy fast! I'm better off just staying here." He was balding and had a huge forehead. The man was frowning, and looked scared. Just like so many other citizens, he was scared by the Family who ran the town. Led by evil Layton. This had to stop.

The scientist spoke again. "Guess you're not part of the Family. They're not too bright, you see."

"Of course not! We're no Family goons! I'm Luke, and this man here is the famous Professor Layton!"

"AH!" The scientist ran away when hearing Layton's name. "Layton, you say? Of course he's not a Family goon! He's the head honcho! Help, somebody help me!"

Luke sighed after the man ran away, and right into Chinatown. I suppose any place is safer than where Layton is. "Oops. I forgot how the name Layton tends to scare the socks off the people in this time."

"Yes, it's unfortunate, but people seem to think I'm a criminal. On a more interesting note, do take a look at the ground, Luke."

"Those footprints must belong to the man who just ran off. Come to think of it, his feet and pants were all wet. But why? It's a bit chilly to be out for a swim, don't you think?"

"Indeed. So how did he get all wet?"

As they walked along, the Professor shot a few brain teasers at Luke, helping him sharpen his brain, as the Professor had a bad feeling that they might need some quick, on the spot thinking later on. The pathway turned into a forest, and they passed it, despite Luke being a bit scared of the area.

They moved on to a strange area, and a man noticed their confused looks.

"Pst. Hey there, you two. You got a lost look about you. Do you know where you are?" The man wore an orange shirt and a tan buttoned shirt under that. He had a long nose and apricot colored skin, with a lot of facial hair, and a blue hat.

"I confess we do not. It's our first time passing through here."

"Listen. I could be wrong, but it looks like you two are a couple of upstandin' citizens. I'm a nice fella, so I'll clue you two in. You're standing right on top of a black-market bazaar."

Luke was surprised. "Black Market? Wow."

"Wow is right, kid. We sell a lot of weird stuff out here, and no one questions where it comes from. If it was me in those shiny loafers of yours, I'd keep my head down and vamoose as quick as I can."

"Yes, that seems prudent."

"Before we go, though, tell me—why do people come all the way out here to do their shopping?"

"Listen, kid. The things for sale here, well…let's just say you won't find them at the supermarket. But, come to the bazaar, and who can say what treasures you'll find."

"So, you deal in antiques and other rare items?"

"I think we've asked enough questions for one day, Luke. Let's move on, shall we?"

"You two be careful! Oh, and if you're ever in the market for something hard to locate, swing by."

The bazaar was a bit bigger than originally expected, but it was an interesting place, to say the least. Next to a few buildings was an extremely large door with some kind of electronic lock on it. The bad part is that there were two goons that looked like they meant business that had a strong resemblance to Chelmey and Barton. Due to the resemblance, the Professor called them Shmelmey and Shmarton for the time being.

They tried to pass through the door.

"Oi! Just what do you think you're doing? No one passes through this gate here! Now clear out, or we'll be having more than words with each other."

"I see." The Professor realized that avoiding conflict was the safe thing to do, although Luke was angry as always about the words the one man said, and the tone that he used.

"The nerve of them! They're just a pair of brutes, don't you agree? Um…Professor? What are you thinking about?"

"Tell me, Luke. Did those two remind you of anyone we know? It's not an exact match, but they do bear an odd resemblance to a certain pair of fellows we know."

"Of course! You're talking about Inspector Chelmey and Barton!"

"I am. The similarities are quite striking, don't you think?" One appeared to be much bigger, and more in charge, and the body builds were the same. They nearly had matching mustaches and beards.

"Big guy in charge, check. Short assistant, check! But something tells me the inspector wouldn't take kindly to being told he resembles a criminal!"

"Speaking of the Inspector, did his presence at the event seem at all odd to you?"

"The event? Do you mean the time-machine demonstration?"

"Yes. Why do you suppose a police inspector was invited to an event like that in the first place?"

"Well…He's cracked quite a few tough cases. Maybe his celebrity status got him invited."

"Yes, I'd assumed the same thing. After all, pseudo-celebrity status is what got you and me our tickets."

"Psuedo-celebrity? Nonsense! You're the great Professor Layton! The very model of a modern-day English gentleman!"

The Professor was flattered. "Ha ha! I hate to say it, Luke, but I think you're the only one who'd heap that kind of praise on me. From what I saw, almost everyone there was a part of London's upper class or media. The inspector and I were clear exceptions to an otherwise homogenous list of names."

Luke wasn't catching on that well. "So?"

"So, the question looms before us. Why did Dr. Stahngun, whoever he is, invite the inspector and me?"

It was conversations like this that showed who Hershel Layton was. Always thinking about something, even something that might not matter. "What I wouldn't give to hear the inspector's take on the event…"

"Yeah, it's too bad we'd have to go back to our own time to ask him. Wait a second! What if the inspector is still working here in the future?"

Just then, Big Luke walked out and heard them talking. "Professor, there you are!"

"Ah, hello, Luke."

"I couldn't help but overhear you as I ran up. Did you say you'd like to meet with the inspector?"

"Yes. Ideally, we would meet him back in our time, while the events of 10 years ago are still fresh."

"I think we can make that happen."

Luke and the Professor were amazed. "But how?"

"Let's continue this conversation away from prying eyes, shall we? Why don't we head over to the wooded area to the west?"

As they moved, the Professor had to admit he was shocked that Big Luke could apparently send them back in time.

"There. Much better. I don't think anyone's likely to overhear us here."

"You mentioned that there is a way for us to visit the inspector who exists in our own time," Layton pressed. "I can only imagine this means returning to the present. Is that possible?"

"Indeed, Professor. But the only way to do it is to use the wormhole in the clock shop."

"But the door to that place is bolted shut. How will we get in?" Luke complained about how it couldn't happen, but other Luke had an answer.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I can get that door open for you."

"Strange…Why is it you have such easy access to the wormhole?"

Again, as he had before, Big Luke dodged the question, leaving Layton mystified again. "I promise I'll explain everything when we get there. Please trust me on this. But for now, let's return to the clock shop on Midland Road."

"But what about our plan to head into Chinatown?"

"That will have to go on the back burner for now. The situation has changed."

At first, Luke had joked about there being a time traveling postman. They learned it was true after meeting Shipley. Now, there mission to get into Chinatown was going to be done later. The Professor had many questions for the Inspector about things, some before the time-machine demonstration. Chelmey had to see this world for himself. And what about Flora? She had also been abandoned. So much had been discovered in just a day or two, but they were just getting started on figuring everything out. All they had was a very small bit of something very huge.


	5. Chapter 4: Back to the Present

By now, Layton and Luke had met Future Luke, and seen Future London. They had got quite used to the idea of time travel, and that they were in the future. Layton wanted to get Inspector Chelmey's opinion on the matter, which would require traveling back in time. Future Luke knew how to do it, but the only way was to return to the Midland Road Clock Shop.

Personally, Luke did not want to go back there. Time traveling made him feel sick. And they were locked out of the clock shop when they left originally arrived 10 years into the future. Spring and Cogg were very nice people, so they had to have some reasoning behind that. And Luke wanted to know what the reasoning was.

So they began to make the journey to the little shop they had now knew a bit too well. When they passed the lighthouse, though, Luke had to question his future self.

"Say, when was that lighthouse on the Thames built?"

"About five or so years ago."

Layton also wanted to question Future Luke on the subject. "Did anyone complain about the lighthouse's peculiar location? Building a structure like that in the middle of the Thames seems like it'd do more wrong than good."

Luke, as he had done numerous times, dodged the question and proceeded to tell them what needed to be done. "You make a good point, professor. But enough chat about the city. We need to make for the clock shop."

Just as they continued, Mr. Fashionable himself, Graham, stopped them. "Oh, thank goodness you stopped. The most debonair gentleman in London requires your assistance." Graham didn't even think of the possibility that they'd say no.

"O…K. What's the matter?"

"It's that blasted bird over there!" It was the parrot Layton and Luke saw before. "The dreadful creature swooped down and plucked my best cuff links right off my sleeves!" He seemed infuriated.

Future, or Big Luke, who hadn't seen the parrot last time, saw it first this time around. "Oh, that must be the bird this fellow was talking about."

"Oh wow, the parrot!"

"Don't just stand there gaping! Grab the awful thing before he gets away!" Obviously, the most debonair man in London took his cuff links seriously.

Future Luke was a bit caught off guard by the request, and pointed out to Graham that they had places to be. "You may not have noticed, sir, but we're in a bit of a hurry here."

In defense of Graham, Little Luke critiqued the older him. "Listen to yourself, Luke! Don't you remember what the professor always says? Helping people is the duty of every gentleman!"

Just slightly shocked by the reasoning of his younger counterpart, Big Luke decided to help Graham after all. "I suppose you've got me there. Very well then, let's think. This bird clearly like shiny objects. Tell me, sir, do you have anything shiny we could borrow for a moment?"

"Of course! What sort of gentleman would I be without the proper accoutrement? Here—I carry around this garnet for when I need to accessorize with a little flash!"

Graham had the group get the garnet out of his bag, and after Big Luke mentioning that he was making it harder for them to help, they were able to get the garnet.

"With any luck, this flashy bauble will attract the feathery fellow. When he gets close, see if you can make friends."

"Leave it to me!"

"Right, then. Here goes!"

Luke was hoping that his communication with animals wouldn't fail him again, and it didn't. The bird saw the shiny object, and was drawn to it like a magnet.

"Here he comes!"

"Don't worry, little guy! We won't hurt you!" He then seemed to get in a conversation with the bird. You may question Luke's straightforward antics, but you can't question the results that it got. The bird let out a few squawks, and Luke responded, "You don't say!" Regardless of whether or not they were in a full blown conversation, the bird was indeed comfortable around Luke, and Big Luke couldn't help but notice that.

"Say, that bird seems pretty keen on you. Are you friends now?"

"Of course!"

They decided to keep the bird along with them for the duration of the journey, and it wasn't hard because he kept following Luke.

"Now that you're friends, why don't you give him a name?" The Professor smiled while commenting on his apprentice's ways with animals.

"That's a great idea, Professor. But what should I name him?"

The parrot seemed to be named already, and replied to everyone with a phrase he must've picked up earlier in life. "Hello! Nice to meet you! I'm Blake!"

Luke responded to Blake the parrot. "Hello back at you! I'm Luke. Nice to meet you too, Blake!"

"Well done, Luke. That was amazing!"

Luke, a bit full of himself, responded. "Of course! What else would you expect from the apprentice of the great Professor Layton?"

Graham came back into the picture and thanked them for catching the parrot that had troubled him. "Thank heavens you caught that feathery menace. What fine young men you two are." They'd probably be glad too, because that parrot would become very useful a bit later.

"Keep at it, and one day you may well each become a true gentleman like myself."

Layton could only help but laugh inside when he heard that Graham thought of himself as a true gentleman. They had helped him, and Future Luke may not be as stylish, but already as much of a gentleman as Graham. It was ungentlemanly to think like that, but it was hard to avoid the truth.

"We're glad we could help. I believe these cuff links and garnet are yours."

"Oh, yes. There we are. With these on, I'm even more devastatingly handsome than before." That would be Graham. A very fashionable and cocky man. He did though pay them in return.

"Now I believe you two young men deserve something for your trouble."

"Oh, there's really no need, sir."

"Yes, he's right," Luke repeated. "Helping people is enough reward for any gentleman!"

Graham let them be, and after some walking, the gang, and newly acquired parrot, reached Flatstone street, which was relatively close to Midland Road.

"Let's take the path on the left up here."

"The left? Will that way take us back to Midland Road as well?"

"It will, and in half the time."

There was another goon up the road, and Luke was still trying to see if all goons were truly mean, so he thought he'd give it a shot, and was pleasantly surprised.

"I see you staring at me. What do you need, boy?"

"Oh, nothing, sir. I just saw you there and thought I'd say hello."

The man chuckled, and was good spirited, probably just a goon for the money. "You've got some guts approaching me. It makes me laugh! It's been a while since I had a chuckle like that. Let me thank you.

They continued down the path until they reached a dead end, and there was a door at the end of it. Luckily, Future Luke knew his way around town.

"Midland Road is just on the other side of that door."

"I'll run ahead and open it!" Unfortunately, it was locked. "Hey, the door is locked!"

"Locked? That can't be! Step aside, Little Luke. I'll get it open"

Future Luke was unsuccessful as well. "Strange. It is locked."

"Look here, you two. There's an unusual set of numbers embedded in the door." Layton knew a puzzle when he saw one. Hershel Layton had been unusually quiet recently. He was never loud, but today he was silent. Who knew what was going on in that brain of his.

Layton teamed up with Big Luke and cracked the code and the door was unlocked.

"Wonderful work, Big Luke."

"I think it's a little early for celebrations, Professor. The door still won't open."

"If the puzzle wasn't keeping the door shut, what is?" Layton was a bit stunned.

Big Luke smiled and replied, "Well, I suppose it's time for Plan B." He always had a backup plan, even if it meant busting in. "It might seem like too simple a solution, but would you two help me shove this door?"

"Certainly. It seems we've run out of other options anyway." And that was coming from the Professor. There were some things you just had to do.

"Ready, everyone? All together on three. One. Two. Three!"

Everyone pushed the door open to reveal an interesting, and amusing sight. The reason the door was locked was that a man fell asleep against the door on the other side.

"Who's that fellow sprawled out across the street?" It seemed as if Little Luke hadn't put two and two together yet.

"Ha ha ha! It's hard to believe, but this fellow must've fallen asleep against the door."

"This just goes to show you that every puzzle has an answer, even if that answer is just brute force." Layton always said that every puzzle had an answer, but this usually wasn't the long thought out solution that Luke Triton was used to.

"Well, think fast, Professor. Because the answer is coming right at us, and he looks mad." The man was Niklaus, a man that they'd seen when they first arrived at London, and he had been scared of the Professor's hat. This time, he wasn't that scared.

"Hey! Why'd you kick down my napping door? Not only did it hurt, but you woke me up!"

"We're terribly sorry, sir. Please understand we had no idea you were there."

Now, the old Niklaus came back, and he was happy not be yelled at by the man that looked so much like Evil Layton. "Oh, didn't realize it was you. Look—forget I saw anything. I'm feeling kind of queasy, so I'm just going to go home now." He wasted no time running away.

"I seem to have driven that poor man off again.'"

"I wouldn't fret over it too much, Professor. Besides, we need to keep moving toward the clock shop. We're just about there."

The Professor knew Big Luke was right, but he just didn't know why Luke had to keep changing the subject to where they were, or going.

They stopped back in the café that they were in at their arrival in London, just to check in on Anita, but she stopped them instead.

"So, spill the beans! Just how much trouble did that hat get you into?"

"Is it that obvious?"

"Oh yeah. You've got a slight shell-shocked look about you. But enough about that. Now that you're here, there's something I'd like your help with."

It was really just a puzzle that she was challenged to do, and Layton helped her out with it easily.

Anita wasn't done asking questions about the hat, though. Actually, it was far from over. "What's the story with that hat of yours, anyway? You must be awfully attached to it to keep it on knowing the kind of trouble it can cause."

"You're quite right about that. I daresay this hat is one of my most prized possessions."

She smiled at Layton. "Well, I can see there's no persuading you to take it off. But, be careful out there. These days, it seems like there's trouble around every corner of London."

After the conversation (which by the way, Future Luke did not approve, if you haven't noticed he likes to go where they need to go without much dillydally), they left and headed up the road for a block, and then saw it. The Midland Road Clock Shop. It was right there, and looked a bit intimidating after the whole time travel thing and how they were locked out. It was a good bit larger than they remembered, but without any waiting, they approached it, eager to return back to the past, where things weren't all jacked up.

"There's the shop. The door was locked earlier, and no one would answer it when we knocked."

"That's because you didn't know the secret knock. Watch this." Future Luke stepped up to the door and knocked in a certain pattern, which must've been the secret knock that he was talking about. They heard a noise from inside the shop.

"Come on in!"

Just a tad bit proud of himself, Big Luke looked at Little Luke. "Go on. Try the door now."

Doing as he was told, Luke turned the doorknob carefully and raised his eyebrows when the door opened without the slightest bit of trouble. They walked inside to find that the lights were off, and the clock shop looked abandoned.

"It doesn't look like anyone's here."

With Little Luke's comment, Spring emerged from the shadows and appeared to be watching them. She was in the same outfit, and was staring at the Professor and his set of apprentices.

"Well, look who's back."

"Augh! What are you doing hiding there?"

"I see you've learned the secret knock, dearie."

Future Luke came out from behind and spoke to Spring. "Actually, it was I who did the knocking, Spring. Is Cogg around?"

"There you are, Luke. Cogg is in the back room."

"Oh, are you friends with the owners of the clock shop, Luke?" Luke Triton still felt weird addressing himself, but there was no getting around it, and he admired his future self.

"I suppose I neglected to mention that earlier. Yes, Spring and Cogg have been helping me. Cogg actually explains the situation better than I do, so you should ask him about it." He tipped his hat and looked towards the back of the shop, which looked untouched from before.

"All right. Let's hear what he has to say."

The Professor and Luke went to the back while Future Luke and Spring started to chat. Cogg was to the side of the time-machine where he saw the Professor and his Apprentice Number One.

"I thought I heard voices up front. Nice to see you again, Professor, and…"

"Luke! The Professor's apprentice!"

"Yes, yes, Luke, of course."

It seemed as if Future Luke was done talking and he came in and asked Cogg to elaborate on the time travel stuff.

"Cogg, would you might talking a bit about the wormhole and how it all started? I think it would help everybody get on the same page."

"It'd be my pleasure. You there, Luke! Erm, the smaller Luke that is."

"Yes?"

"Tell me, boy, what does this contraption behind me look like to you?" He turned around and looked at what was supposed to be the time-machine that took them to this time.

"A big, old clock."

"Right you are. By my estimates, this clock is well over a hundred years old." That surprised Luke. He didn't think it was THAT old, and besides, why would an old clock be used as the time-machine one? "The old gal needs a lot of TLC to keep chugging along, so I spend quite a bit of time on maintenance. I was right in the middle of oiling up her gears one day when two Family goons busted in."

He explained in full detail that there were two men, both wearing suits and circular black glasses. One had an irregular shaped head and a big chin and was Codename "Lockjaw" as far as Cogg could tell. He did not look like he wanted to be messed with at all. Lockjaw had said, "Here we go. This has got to be the place the boss was talking about."

The other man had a more regular head and a big forehead and very light blonde hair. He seemed to be codename "Splinters." He too did not look like he wanted to be messed with.

"For sure. Hey, boss! There's a big clock here, just like you said. It's a real antique. Come over and see!"

"Just what do you two think you're doing barging into my shop? And get your hands off my clock!"

"Can it, gramps! You don't get to tell us what to do. Don't you know who you're dealing with?"

"Yeah, a bunch of blockheads who won't leave my shop!"

"If I were you, I'd keep a civil tongue in my head, old man. Now, out of the way. We've got a schedule to keep."

He explained how they just walked into his shop and starting telling him to get out of the way. Then, Bostro had walked into his house and weren't making things any easier.

"What are you two clowns putzing around for? Get to work!" He raised his arm and was ready to smack one of them if he wanted to. "If we don't hurry, things won't be ready by the time you-know-who talked about."

Lockjaw replied, "Sorry, Bostro. We're trying our best, but gramps here is making things difficult!"

"Don't be a lunkhead! You know how to deal with "difficult." Throw him out on the street!"

Cogg went on to tell how the two higher rank goons were following orders from their boss, and grabbed him by the arms.

"Let me go you dirt bags!"

"We're just gonna go for a little walk, gramps. That's OK with you, isn't it?"

"You keep your filthy hands off my clock! You hear me?"

Bostro, not 100% happy with everything, responded. "We're just about on schedule. But we have to wait to turn this thing on until it's the exact time the big guy mentioned."

Cogg looked at Professor Layton, and both Big and Little Luke, and nodded. "That's all I heard before those brutes tossed me out of my own shop. It wasn't until later that I found out what the thugs wanted from my little clock shop."

The Professor was interested in the story, and why the men came in. Luckily, he was about to get an answer to his question.

"See, the Family funded the construction of a time-machine by some scientists. I think the idea was to create some kind of wormhole or warp point."

"But how did they manage to do that?" Now, Layton was getting more answers on how he was brought to this strange version of London. And that's the information that the archaeology Professor wanted.

"Beats me. It was all mumbo jumbo…Something about opening up a vortex in the flow of time."

This disappointed the professor greatly. He truly wanted to know the whole story before he went to meet up with his future self. Hershel in the future would be 47, 10 years wiser, and probably a more witty man than Hershel of the past, or current for him.

"Anyway, for whatever reason, the plan didn't go exactly as they anticipated."

"I see. And somehow this hole in time manifested itself in or near this clock of yours."

"That'd be the case, yes. The clock has been here, ticking away for over one hundred years." He seemed very proud of the big clock, just as anyone would be. It was quite the artifact. "My guess is that something about the clock's age caused the warp point to gravitate to this spot. Yep. The wormhole—or whatever it's called—was pulled here and became a part of my clock. The thing is, I'm the only one who can keep that old gal running. Which means, like it or not, Spring and I are the only people who can open and close this wormhole."

This is when some things started to fall into place. Luke, being only eleven or so, was a bit behind, though. "That's really strange."

"It's a burden, is what it is. Once the Family found out about what I could do, they forced me to work the clock for them."

Future Luke responded to the mess with a very positive attitude. "After a while, I caught wind of Cogg's situation. I'm sure it goes without saying, but Cogg isn't a part of the Family. In fact, the Family has been nothing but a source of trouble for poor Cogg."

"It sure sounds that way."

"Knowing that, I approached Cogg and Spring and explained my idea to them. After getting them on board with my idea, Cogg fired up the machine and helped get my message to you."

"And upon receiving your letter, my curiosity took myself and Luke on a journey that led us here." Layton had to admit that it was a pretty good plan for Luke to have come up with. And he hadn't told them everything yet, because the time wasn't right. "That's quite the plan you drummed up, Big Luke."

"Thank you…But it's about to get even more interesting."

"Oh?"

"Professor, with Cogg's help we can send you and Little Luke back to your own time. You'll be able to ask Inspector Chelmey all the questions you want. But when you're done chatting, you will come back to put a stop to what's going on here, won't you?"

"Luke, you of all people should know the answer to that question. I keep my promises, and I intend to solve the problem here. It's what a gentleman would do."

"Thank you, Professor. That was exactly the answer I was hoping for."

"Well, I wouldn't dream of leaving things here in this state. You said it yourself, Big Luke. The only one who can stop Hershel Layton is Hershel Layton himself."

"Ha ha! Quite right. My apologies. I never should have doubted you."

Cogg added, "Hopefully, you'll learn something there that will help us fix the terrible situation in our time."

"Yes, I hope so too. Now, Cogg, if you would be so kind as to fire up the clock."

Future Luke replied, "I hope you'll understand if I said here. I don't want to risk distorting the events of the past any more than necessary."

"I agree completely. Besides, the poor inspector's eyes might very well pop out of his head if I showed up with two Lukes."

"But just think about how fun it would be to see his reaction. Pity you can't come, Big Luke." That would be Luke, always up to mess with Chelmey. The inspector practically hated him because Luke thought that he was really Don Paolo (a great master of disguise with an evil side,) and tried to rip his face off.

"OK, she's all ready to go." Cogg signaled for them to go into the time-machine. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Quickly, the hands of the clock began to vibrate, and then turns rapidly all around the clock. The machine let out puffy smoke and sounds began to come from the machine and everyone knew what was happening. They were traveling in time. Everything got much, much worse until everything stopped all of a sudden. A few lights blinked and it was safe to move again. They had just traveled 10 years in fifteen seconds. WOW.

"Here we are."

"Ugh…I feel sick." That was Luke again, still a bit sick from time traveling like the first time that they went to the clock shop.

"Are you going to be all right, Luke? You're positively green."

"I feel sort of seasick, my ears are all stuffy, and the ground feels like it's made of marshmallow." I'd assume besides that, that the apprentice was okay.

"Yep, that'd be the time sickness talking. The first jump I made, I felt the same way." It was good having the person that worked the time-machine there with you.

"Well, Cogg, we're going to head off now and see what we can find out."

"Sounds good. I'll be here waiting for you. Just use that special knock, and I'll let you in."

"Excellent. I was wondering how we'd contact you if we went to your own time while we were out."

"Yep, that'd be a pain, alright. Now, you two should skedaddle. I'd like to get home in time for dinner."

Now back in their own time, the Professor and Luke said goodbye to Spring and Cogg, and headed out of their clock shop, eager to get Chelmey's opinion, and possibly bring him into this awful future version of London.

When they walked out the front door, everything had changed back. It was exactly how it looked a few days earlier, when they first received Shipley's note, sending them into the future.

"There's no doubt about it. We're back in our own time."

"The surroundings here certainly do seem familiar."

"Whew. You know, all this time travel has really worn me out." It was a lot for a grade school boy to take in.

"Yes, I could do with a rest myself. But we mustn't keep Cogg waiting."

"You're right. So, shall we go find Inspector Chelmey?"

"That will be our second stop. First, I'd like to run by my office at the University." This came as a surprise to Luke, who thought that talking to Chelmey was the only reason that they were going back in time anyway. But the Professor did always think things through, so he had no doubt that they were doing the right thing, just why?

"So we are taking a break."

"Not quite. I need to a little prep work for our session with Inspector Chelmey. Preparation, my boy, is the foundation upon which every good investigation is built."

"Right you are, Professor!" In all honesty, Luke had his doubts, but didn't want to tell the Professor that.

"Now that we're in our own time, we can reach the university by bus in a matter of minutes." They were headed to Gressenheller University, the campus in which Layton and Luke primarily stayed, and where Layton did his archaeology teachings. He practically kept his life in his office, so it was where he had files on everything. "Let's go, Luke."

As they walked down the streets of a much more familiar London, they still wanted to make sure that they had a bus service, so they stopped by a man with green glasses, and a large red beard.

"Hi there, small fry. What can I do for you?"

"I noticed there's a bus stop ahead. London still has a bus service, doesn't it?"

"Of course! We've got more buses than you can shake a stick at. What an odd question to ask."

"EXCELLENT! Did you hear that, Professor? London's buses still run!"

"I head, Luke. Your exuberance is appreciated, but we don't want to unsettle our friend here."

"I've never seen someone so jazzed about riding the bus." The man probably walked away thinking that Luke, especially, was crazy for his attitude about riding the bus, but he didn't care. The underground railway just wasn't the same. Or as convenient.

After going back onto the road with the bus stop, they selected the bus going to Gressenheller University, and boarded it in only a few minutes time. They were on the bus when Luke explained to the Professor how he'd like a little recap, which is very helpful after all of the time traveling stuff.

"I have to admit I've gotten a bit turned around with all of this time traveling. What are we investigating now?"

"Oh, feeling a bit discombobulated, my boy? I can hardly blame you."

"It's also not every day that I travel to the future and meet my adult self. I could do with a bit of a review on our case as it currently stands."

"Very well. Let's see if we can bring you up to speed. All right. Do you remember why Big Luke called us to the future?"

"To stop the Evil Professor Layton, right?"

"And what exactly are we stopping my future self from doing?"

"Oh, right. We want to stop you—er, him—from completing his time-machine research!"

"Precisely. Which is exactly why you and I were headed to Chinatown."

"Oh yes, now it's all coming back to me. But then we failed to get into Chinatown. It was at that point that you starting talking about asking the inspector some questions."

"Yes, but at that time I had no idea that we'd be able to jump back to our own time to question him."

"In that sense, it seems we got pretty lucky, huh?"

"Perhaps." This made Layton more suspicious of everything going around. It still seemed like it had to be true, and there was nothing that could prove it was false.

"Perhaps? It sounds like something isn't sitting right with you. Is something bothering you?"

"Indeed. And it's that something that we've come to investigate. Ah, and we've just about reached our stop. We'll run by my office, and then it's off to see the inspector."

So the Professor and Luke got off of the bus, and headed to Gressenheller University. What the Professor was saying made Luke very curious, and the chat with the inspector couldn't be just a regular conversation either. And the fact that Flora was still back at the office. There were so many things that needed to be figured out, so there was no sense in waiting. Layton and Luke were confident that this problem and mystery would be solved.


	6. Chapter 5: The Forgotten Case

Now that the Professor and Luke were back in the London they knew, there was much to do. The Professor had insisted that they visit the Professor's office at Gressenheller University. After that, they were to meet with Inspector Chelmey and Constable Barton to ask some questions about the time-machine demonstration, and perhaps see if he knew who Dr. Stahngun really was. They had to be quick about it, though. Future Luke and Cogg were waiting, and Evil Hershel was continuing his research.

"I need to stop by my office and check something. After that, we'll go find Inspector Chelmey."

They walked over to Gressenheller University, where one of the Professor's students stopped him. She had orange hair and green eyes.

"There you are, Professor! I see you cancelled lecture again this week. Let me guess. Are you investigating another strange mystery?" It seemed that the news really got around with Layton being a puzzle solver.

"Hello, Rosetta. Yes, something rather pressing has come up. But I'll make sure to have a makeup session later."

"Oh, no worries, Mr. L. As long as I get my credits, I'm not sweating it."

"Now, what kind of attitude is that to have, Rosetta? If you want those credits, you'll have to earn them. And as your paper is on the stone relics of Cornwall, I'd say you have your work cut out for you. As your advisor, I insist that you check in with me weekly until your paper's shaped up."

She had a short "ok?" smile and replied, "I didn't mean to imply that I wasn't interested in the work. And I'm very much looking forward to our sessions together. Not every girl has the privilege of receiving private instructions from the great Professor Layton."

"What I mean to say is that you should check in during office hours."

A bit eager to leave, Rosetta spoke. "Oh, you don't have to tell me twice, Professor. I'll see you next week."

The Professor was a little happy to stop conversing with one of his students and get back to what he wanted to do. Luke didn't get a good impression, though.

"I don't know what that girl's up to, Professor, but it can't be good, Professor!"

"Nonsense, my boy. I'm sure it's all in your head."

"You can't fool me. Did you see the look she gave you?"

So Professor Layton entered the doors of his university with Luke at his side. It smelled like a university. Fresh grass outside, inside it smelled like books and wood used for making desks. If he smelled harder, probably sweaty twenty year olds, so he didn't. By the time he reached his office, it had been a good few minutes. Gressenheller was no small university. Near his office was Dean Delmona, the dean at Gressenheller U.

He was an old man, probably at least seventy years of age. And that's a strong at least. He wore glasses, because he couldn't do a thing without them now. He had a sideways crescent gray mustache, and his eyebrows were white, but the few strands of hair he had left were brown.

"Hershel, my boy! I've been looking for you!"

"Hello, sir. Didn't you receive my notice that I was on holiday?"

"Oh, that? Yes, everything's in order there. It's something else that I need your help with."  
>"In that case, please tell me how I can be of assistance to you, sir."<p>

"Lean in a bit, my boy. What I'm about to ask you…Well, I wouldn't like anyone else to hear it. The thing is, I have a puzzle I simply can't work through on my own. My darling granddaughter brought it to me, but I can't for the life of me solved the blasted thing."

"I can see how that could be quite vexing."

"Vexing is putting it politely. It's hard to feel like the king of your castle when you can't even solve your grandchild's puzzle. It's a rather serious issue for me, Hershel."

"It certainly sounds that way, sir."

"Yes. So I take it I can count on you to help me work through this thing."

"But, of course."

The Professor worked through the puzzle like any other, but couldn't help feeling that something wasn't right. Delmona didn't sound exactly like himself, and the Dean was very smart, and the puzzle wasn't out of this world difficult by any means. Nevertheless, he didn't say anything because there was the slight chance he was just going crazy from the time traveling.

"That's it! My granddaughter's going to flip when she hears how clever her granddad is!"

"I'm glad I could help you with your predicament, sir."

"Likewise. By the way, Hershel, I do have one more small favor to ask of you."

"Certainly."

"Let's keep the fact that you helped me with this puzzle between you, me, and the wall, shall we?"

"Of course. After all, you've got a reputation to maintain with your granddaughter. It will be our secret."

"Perceptive as always. And what about you, young man? Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course! My lips are sealed, sir."

"Splendid! For that you have my thanks. One last thing, Hershel. There's a young lady in your office. She said she's waiting for you."

"I see."

"Oh, you must be talking about Flora."

Dean Delmona continued to walk down the hall as the Professor and Luke headed towards their office. Neither knew if Flora would be gentle, or kind, or angry about the situation. They found her sitting in the Professor's desk.

"Oh! Um, hi there, Flora."

"You two have got some nerve leaving me alone while you go off on another adventure!" The question was answered: angry.

Flora was probably a few years older than Luke, and had brown hair that was in a ponytail at the back. She had big, brown eyes and pale skin. She was a few inches taller than Luke, probably around five feet tall.

"Now, Flora, you know that wasn't our intention at all." Layton did feel sorry for this, but knew he could've done nothing to bring her along that early. "While we were out investigating one issue, an even more troublesome matter arose."

"What kind of troublesome matter?"

"We couldn't have seen it coming, Flora. Honest!" Luke finally realized how long they were gone. Layton was Flora's legal guardian, and they were gone for nearly three days.

"Really?"

"Of course! We wouldn't have left you behind on purpose."

"Luke is quite right. Do forgive us for our oversight."

"Well, OK. Just this once. But you two better not leave me alone again!"

"Of course not."

She lightened up a bit, not as angry. "What's done is done, so I guess there's no point in my stewing over it. You two must be awfully tired from running around. I just made a pot of tea. I'll go fetch it."

Flora went off, and Luke was a bit concerned. "Um, did you just make a promise to Flora?"

"I believe I have. And, unfortunately, this is one promise I fear I might have to break."

"Professor, that's terrible! Not to mention very unlike you to go back on your word."

"Well, I didn't see you doing anything to dissuade the poor girl from coming with us. Besides, you know our current case is fraught with danger. I don't want her to get hurt. Anyway, we need to finish our work here so we can find the Inspector. We'd best move quickly."

Flora was not a puzzle solver. Flora was not an adventurer, although she wanted to. Flora Reinhold was in danger any time she came on a mystery. She didn't run fast, think quickly or try to crack a mystery, and the Professor and Luke knew it. Exactly why they didn't want to bring Flora into this mess of a situation.

"I suppose you're right, Professor. All right, then, what are we looking for here?"

"Somewhere in my office is a leather-bound notebook with a yellow note sticking out of it. Do you think you could help me find it?"

"Aye, aye, Professor. I'm on the case!" In full pirate language, Luke knew exactly where the journal was, but refrained from reading the Professor's notes. The book actually had most pages torn out of it.

"Is this the notebook you were talking about?"

"Why, yes it is!"

Luke looked a bit overwhelmed when reading the title. "Let's see. 'The Information Concerning the Explosion at the Institute of Polydimensional Research.' Did you put this notebook together, Professor?"

"I did, piece by piece. Sadly, most of its contents have been removed."

"Whoa, you weren't kidding. Most of the pages have been torn out."

"It's been a while since I opened it last. Let me see…At least the newspaper clippings are intact."

"When exactly are all these articles from, Professor?"

"I'll explain more on the bus. But for now, we need to get out of here before Flora returns."

Professor Layton and Luke dashed out the door just as Flora was coming in. She had been officially ditched by the most trustworthy man she knew. "Voila! I thought you might be hungry, so I made some little cucumber sand—Oh dear, where did they go?"

Out the doors of Gressenheller University they went. Until Rosetta came.

"Oh, hey, Mr. L. Where are you rushing off to now?

"There's no time to talk! We're in the midst of an important investigation!"

"Um, in case you didn't notice, shorty, I was talking to the Professor just then."

"We're following a lead in our investigation."

"Gotcha. But could I just have a second of your time before you go?"

"Didn't you hear the Professor? We're in a hurry, lady!"

"Listen, pip-squeak, you may think you're the Professor's spokesman, but, um, YOU AREN'T! OK?"

"Did you just call me a pip-squeak?"

"Now, Luke, calm yourself. We have time to hear her out. What can I do for you, Rosetta?"

"Aw, I knew you'd come through for me, Professor. See, I've got this puzzle that I just can't find the answer to. Could you help a girl out?"

"A puzzle, you say? I think we might be able to offer some assistance. Let's have a look."

"If all you wanted was some help with a puzzle, you could've just said so from the start."

This conversation definitely did NOT help with Luke's impression of Rosetta, but then again, Rosetta did not care. People came from all over just wanting the Professor to solve their puzzles. It was quite ridiculous.

"Thank you so much, Professor."

"Think nothing of it, Rosetta. I hope to see you next week. Keep up the good work on your paper."

"You bet, Professor. I'm looking forward to hours of private instruction. Oh, but next time we meet, you should leave your little friend at home. He might distract me from my studies."

"I shouldn't say bad things about your students, Professor, but she is definitely NOT on my honor roll!"

They went to the bus stop and caught the next bus to Scotland Yard. The police of London. On the bus, they talked about the reason to go to Layton's office.

"About the notebook we picked up at your office, Professor…Exactly what explosion were you researching?"

Layton was very serious in his answer. "It all happened several years ago, when you were very small. Two scientists working in a physics lab unwittingly caused an explosion during an experiment. The explosion devastated the surrounding area."

"That must have been all over the news."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? However, though many perished in the blast, few records of the accident remain."

"What happened?"

"That's something I'm still trying to figure out myself. But answer me this, Luke. What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear of an explosion?"

"The explosion of Dr. Stahngun's time-machine, of course!"

"That was my first thought as well. I have a strong suspicion that these two incidents are connected."

"Why's that?"

"Well, it's nothing more than a hunch, so I really can't say more right now."

The Professor and Luke each thought about the two strange occurrences in silence for a few minutes.

"Oh, Professor, this is our stop! Here we are at Scotland Yard!"

"There's no time to waste. We need to find the inspector."

The Professor and Luke headed over to the Scotland Yard's Headquarters, a large building, without any dillydallying of any kind.

"Welcome to Scotland Yard, headquarters of the London police. How may I be of service to you?" The man had short brown hair, and a purple suit and hat, the same color as the rest of the Scotland Yard as it appeared.

"We're here to see Inspector Chelmey. Will you please let him know we'd like to speak with him?"

"Unfortunately, the Inspector is terribly busy right now. But, I'll call ahead to let the Inspector know you're coming. His office is just up those stairs on the second floor." He pointed to a flight of stairs just down the corridor.

"Thank you very much."

Layton hoped to get the answers he wanted as they climbed the stairs. Luke just hoped that the inspector wasn't still too mad at him. It was quite embarrassing a few of the last times they had met. They reached the office and opened the door.

It was a large office. There was an enormous bookcase taking up the entire left wall. Maps and certificates cluttered the rest of the walls. There were a few chairs for relaxing, and on the Inspector's large desk were several stacks of papers that were nearly two feet tall! While Inspector Chelmey was nowhere to be found, Constable Barton, in the same purple uniform as the receptionist/guard, was sitting down on a chair drinking some tea.

"Nothing like a nice cup of tea to sooth jangled nerves."

"Good day, Barton."

"Good day to you, sir."

"Barton, we wish to have a few words with the inspector, but I don't see him here."

"I don't see him here, either."

"I was led to believe he was here. In his office?"

"Yes, he was. Then he got up and left. It was all very sudden. I too am puzzled by his sudden disappearance."

Just then, the inspector turned the doorknob and came in to his office. Seeing Layton made him a bit angry, even more so that he was conversing with the Constable. He at once was angry.

"Barton! I sincerely hope you're not spreading misinformation about me! I just told you I needed to pop downstairs to see the commissioner."

"Ah, yes. You did say that, sir." Barton was a little scared of the inspector in moments like these.

"Use your ears, Constable. You'll never move up in the force if you don't learn to listen."

"Greetings, Inspector." Layton tried to always be calm when talking to Inspector Chelmey, who was nearly always was angry about something.

"Ah, apologies for not saying hello, Layton. What a surprise to see you. Welcome to my humble office."

"Forgive the sudden intrusion, Inspector. I heard that you're leading the investigation on the prime minister's disappearance."

"I am. And as it's you I'm speaking with, I'll be quite candid. This case has me completely baffled. Dozens of eyewitnesses, including myself, and not one blasted lead to work with! Since you were there, I might as well hear your take on things. Have a seat."

"I was questioned the day of the incident, but maybe our chat will uncover some new theories."

"We've already established that you were there when the explosion occurred."

"Yes, I certainly was."

"Then you must believe, as I do, that there was no way anyone could've survived that blast. Not that quack Stahngun, not his staff, and, though I hate to say it, not the prime minister. But what confounds me is that not a single trace of the lot remains."

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is, we've canvassed the whole place and haven't found a thing related to the victims. No bodies, no clothing, and no shoes. Not even so much as a pocket watch or ring!" The Inspector was definitely furious about having no evidence, and it showed in his voice. "All we recovered from the scene was the 10 tons of scrap metal that used to be the machine. No people, though."

"There were eight of them, sir."

"What? Did you say something just now, Constable?"

"There were eight of them, sir. Eight people vanished."

"Ah, yes. According to eyewitness reports, eight people vanished from the scene. That group consisted of Stahngun, a handful of his assistants, and the prime minister. Now how in the world do eight people just vanish? It's like a blasted magic trick!"

The Inspector was a funny guy without trying to be in the mind of Layton. It was like Layton was Sherlock Holmes. He always was a few steps ahead logically, and while the Inspector would come up with a perfectly reasonable theory, Layton would just come up and be like "Yeah, that's great, but here's what really happened." It frustrated the Inspector to an incredible level. The Archaeologist always outsmarts the Professor? It's how it seemed to happen. And just like always, the Professor was quite a bit ahead of them. And Luke wasn't going to hold back on what he knew.

"Don't worry, Inspector. From what I heard, the prime minister is still alive!"

"Ah, young Luke. Be a good lad and keep quiet, all right?" Inspector Chelmey still hated Luke, and it was a bit awkward how he called him "young Luke" while he didn't know about Future Luke. "The adults are having a serious conversation here." It was quite possible that Chelmey thought that it was not possible for Bill Hawks to still be alive, but still it was rude for the inspector to not even respond. "If you're bored, why don't you and Barton go play in the hall?"

"Inspector, I assure you Luke isn't making this up. There's a very real possibility that Bill Hawks is alive."

This was the first time in this particular case that Layton had surprised Chelmey. It wouldn't take long before it happened again. Chelmey's problem most likely was that he always thought inside the box.

"What?" His eyebrows went higher and eyes got bigger than most people could imagine. "Well, don't leave me here scratching my head like a fool! Explain, Layton."

"Before I do, I must ask a favor of you first." There was some negotiating to be done.

"And what would that be?"

"Do you recall the explosion that occurred at the Polydimensional Research Institute 10 years ago?"

"What did you just say?" Apparently Chelmey was very surprised at the topics Layton was bringing up at the conversation. The incident was one of the biggest mysteries the Yard had faced in the last quarter-century. No one knew exactly what happened.

"I'll take that as a yes. It is imperative that I see any and all case files on that incident."

Slightly catching on, the Inspector responded. "You just might be on to something here, Layton. What do you know?"

"Nothing at the moment. But I have a suspicion your current case and this old one are linked in some one."

"I'd like to help—really I would. But those files are sealed and require top-level clearance. Even a high-ranking officer like myself would have trouble getting his hands on those."

"I see. I had hoped a man of your status might have the influence necessary to acquire those documents. Unfortunately, it seems I might have hoped for too much. I'm sorry to have asked the impossible of you."

Chelmey hesitated a bit, and then decided to allow Layton, even if it did risk him getting in trouble. "Wait a moment, Layton. I might be able to get you access to the case file."

"Excellent. I would be extremely grateful for that."

"Just one thing, though. These documents don't come for free. I want to know everything you know or suspect about the prime minister's whereabouts."

"Of course. Once I've seen the documents and I'm sure my theory is sound, every detail will be yours."

"Barton! Head down to the archive room and find those old files. Tell them you're there on my orders."

"Right away, sir!" He tipped his hat and scrammed.

"Those files can't leave the archive, but you can read them there. Head downstairs past the lobby into the basement."

"Much appreciated, Inspector."

The Professor happily left the offices with high expectations for those papers down in the Scotland Yard archives. And for Luke, another thing which most tweens don't get to do.

"Hello." That was Barton as they entered the room. "Welcome to the archive. I've gather all the files pertaining to the explosion."

"Thank you, Barton. Your hard work has saved us considerable time."

"Ew!" Luke looked at the documents for the first time. "These documents are all mildewy and covered in dust!"

"These files are off limits to most people. You're the first to touch them in a long time."

"I see."

Luke offered help. "Hand some of those over and I'll help you look through them. Where should I start?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I should handle these myself. They are top secret, after all."

A little disappointed, Luke responded, "Of course. I understand." He let the professor examine everything, and in the meantime talked to Barton.

"You know, it seems the inspector is always yelling at you. Don't you ever get tired of it?"

"It's not so bad. Sure, he scolds me, but only when he has good reason to. Which is often, unfortunately."

"Oh."

"I make a lot of mistakes, so I get yelled at a lot. He's always telling me I lack insight on cases, and don't, um, pay attention. Which is completely understandable. I just get distracted, and then I make mistakes."

"Aw, chin up, Barton. Everyone makes mistakes. Heck, I make them all the time!" He saw that the constable, who was very nice, needed some cheering up, so Luke tried his best. He just hoped Inspector Chelmey could try to be a bit more compassionate with Barton.

"I goof up pretty bad sometimes. I bet you never give the professor any cause to yell at you."

"Well, he's not really the yelling type. But it's true that I never let a puzzle go unsolved. I've got his reputation to protect!"

"Oh, dear. I never considered the possibility that my goof-ups would harm the inspector's reputation."

"Don't worry, Barton. What's most important is to try your best." Luke always liked Barton, but he knew what he said wouldn't mean that much to a constable. He tried anyway.

"If only I could convince the Inspector to see things that way."

After that, they could hear the Professor from fifteen or so yards away. "Luke, come here. I think I've found what I'm looking for!"

"What is it, Professor?" Luke ran so fast, he almost couldn't stop after he reached the Professor. Then he reminded himself of proper library etiquette.

"That file yielded some very valuable information, Luke." The Professor was very satisfied and sounded like he had just solved another mystery.

"What exactly did you find out, Professor?"

"Let's just say I'm very confident the prime minister's still alive." Those were some pretty big words for just a few files from 10 years ago. "However, the only way to save him is to travel to the other London where he's being held."

Luke hesitated for responding. Had the Professor really gone crazy? Or was there a scientific explanation about what happened, just like always? Either way, he was going to be there by the Professor's side. "You think he might be trapped in the future?"

"Perhaps. Let's bring this discussion to the inspector."

Inside his office, Chelmey was going mad. Bill Hawks had to be dead by his reasoning. And that blasted archaeologist, Layton, was going to say otherwise and have proof! He was just going to wait and see. And when Layton walked in, he had no shortage of information.

"Well, Layton, did your investigation bear any fruit?"

He had a full smile, looked down for a moment and responded, "It did indeed!" He was happier than he'd been in a while. Then he went serious again.

"To start, allow me a few questions. Inspector, were you involved in the investigation into the explosion at the institute 10 years ago?"

"Yes, I was there. Ages ago, it was. I remember I had just been promoted to assistant inspector."

"I see. And do you remember the names of the scientists thought to have caused the explosion?"

"Let me think…Ah, it's coming back to me now. One man's name was Allen. Dimitri Allen." He did not remember the other man's name, due to it being 10 years ago.

"Weren't there two scientists implicated? Do you remember the second scientist's name?"

"…It was quite a long time ago, you know."

"I see you're having some difficulty remembering. Well then, what about the victims? Do you remember much about them?"

"The explosion caused substantial damage to the area and destroyed the neighboring apartment complex. One of the lab assistants perished in the explosion, as did several tenants in the building next door. Strangely enough, though, I think both of the scientists involved in the experiment survived."

"That was very informative, Inspector."

"Good, because I've got a few questions of my own now. How do you think this case relates to my current one?"

"This is just a theory…But I think the prime minister is being held somewhere beyond the influence of Scotland Yard."

"Do you mean to say he's being held captive in another country?"

"You may find what I'm about to tell you hard to believe…But I think Bill Hawks is being held captive in the future."

BAM! POW! There it was! Bill Hawks…IN THE FUTURE! The Prime Minister of England, Bill Hawks, 10 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE! Impossible? LAYTON THINKS NOT!

"If this is your idea of a joke, I'm not laughing!" The inspector was furious at Layton at this point. He needed a better explanation.

"I can understand your skepticism. Thank you for all your help today, Inspector. Should I learn anything else about the prime minister's whereabouts, you will be among the first to know. Come, Luke—let's be off." He was about to leave, but Chelmey wasn't about to let him.

"Now, wait right there! We had a deal! Surely you've got more for me than that far-fetched theory."

"Inspector, I've told you as much as I know at the moment. Now, please excuse us."

They left the inspector's office, and walked out of Scotland Yard. Back on the streets, Layton talked again.

"Now that we got what we came for, let's go back to the clock shop. Cogg's waiting for us."

"OK, Professor."

For the duo, it was another set of bus tickets, and another quick bus ride, this time, back to Midland Road. The public transportation was nicer than most, with nice people. But they were happy to get off and continue with the adventure.

They were a block away from Midland Road, and the excitement was adding up, but so would the danger. Pretty soon, they would go back to the future and Evil Layton would be trying to stop their efforts with an army of goons. People making practically no money, just in it for the job.

"I suppose we have to head back to future London now, huh?" He seemed a bit nervous about the situation.

"What's the matter, Luke? Are you scared of traveling through time again?"

"Yes…I mean no. As long as I don't have to do it alone."

"Of course not. I'll be right here with you."

"First on the agenda is heading to Chinatown to meet the future Professor Layton, right?"

"That's right, and if my guess is correct, we'll find the prime minister there as well."

"Do you think we'll run into trouble along the way?"

"Considering the warm welcome we received from the Family at the casino, I'd say anything's possible. Luke, there's no telling what kind of dangers await us in the future. Maybe it would be best for you to remain here in our time."

"What kind of an apprentice would I be if I left you to face danger all alone? Of course I'm going too!"

The Professor and Luke had just discovered some vital information, and Layton was close to breaking this case wide, wide open. He thought he knew who Stahngun was and why Hawks was in the future. Little did he know that that's only part of the mystery. There is still many unsolved parts of this mystery that will have to be solved by Professor Hershel Layton, and his young apprentice.


	7. Chapter 6: Traveling Companions?

The duo of Professor Hershel Layton and his intelligent young apprentice were right on their way to the Midland Road Clock Shop. After hearing Inspector Chelmey's insight on everything that had happened at the awful, possibly deadly time-machine demonstration run by Dr. Stahngun. Stahngun had already proved to be a pseudonym, so figuring out who he was, was also proving to be a challenge. Cogg was waiting, and Future Luke had been figuring out a game plan, or strategy for Chinatown.

"Well, we ought to be off now, Luke. I have the feeling that things are about to get interesting." As if it wasn't already after a near death shooting, the Professor ran ahead, and Luke didn't stay too far behind. Anxiously waiting to solve this mystery, but not anxious at all to time-travel, Luke stared at the clock shop. Layton already had a good feeling what happened in this whole thing, but even that wasn't the entire story.

"Luke, do you remember the secret knock Big Luke used when we last tried to enter the clock shop?"

"Of course! Allow me, Professor."

Luke tried to mimic the lock that Big Luke Triton had used earlier. He did as best as he could, and was relieved to hear Spring's voice at she greeted, Come on in!"

Spring was the first thing that the Professor saw when he walked in, and Spring's clock hairpiece was as unusual as ever. "Welcome back, Professor."

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Where is Cogg, by the way?"

"Oh, same place as always. In the back, tinkering with that clock."

They took the short walk back to the rear of the shop, and were yet again face to face with the masterpiece which was the time-machine.

"Welcome back, you two. I take it you found the information you were after?"

"We did. Hopefully, Luke's not tired of waiting for us in the future."

"Yes, we mustn't keep young sir waiting."

"Young sir?" Luke wasn't the only one that realized the strangeness of those few words. The Professor was also perplexed by why Cogg would call Luke "young master."

"Oh! Did I just call Luke sir? "Sorry, it's an old habit from being in the service industry. My mind's just not as sharp as it used to be, you know. I make mistakes like that often."

After a nice save from a Layton-style interrogation, someone knocked on the door of the clock shop.

"Hmm? Someone's at the door."

Without much waiting, Inspector Chelmey and Barton broke into the clock shop, and met Spring on an unpleasant note.

"You can't just force your way onto private property! It's illegal! Not to mention ungentlemanly."

"Madam, but I'm no gentleman. I'm an officer of the law, and I'm here on an important investigation!"

"What's Inspector Chelmey doing here?" This was Luke, shocked at the arrival of the well known officer of the Scotland Yard.

"You tailed us, didn't you, Inspector? Be that as it may, Spring is right. Forcing your way in here is quite rude."

"Say what you will, Layton. The fact remains that our prime minister is missing! And if I have to crash a few parties to find him, then that's how it has to be!" I suppose that's what you'd expect from a Scotland Yard officer. "And I'll keep crashing them until you lay your cards on the table, Layton. ALL of them."

The Inspector had a hunch that Layton knew more, which, as always, he did.

Then, a third person walked through the door, probably angrier than everyone in the room combined. It was Flora Reinhold.

"I can't believe you, Professor! And you too, Luke!"

"Flora!" They were very shocked to see her at the clock shop. The question was how she got there.

"You two ran off and left me on my own again! And after I made you those nice cucumber sandwiches!"

Hershel had to take the blame on this certain event, but tried to make things at least a little better. "Flora, please try to understand. We just didn't want to put you in a dangerous situation."

Her eyebrows were down at 30 degree angles. She shook her head in disgust.

"I don't buy it. The real reason you won't take me is because you think I'll get in the way!"

"Now that's not it at all!" Now things between the boys and Flora were getting heated. Flora was angry for them not taking her. And this was a serious anger.

"Flora, you have to understand. You could be put in harm's way. It's for your safety that I—"

"I don't know anyone else in this town. What am I supposed to do when you two run off? Stare at the wall? Oh, now that's really fun. And by really fun, I mean not fun at all!"

"When you put it that way, I can see where you're coming from."

"Now Luke, listen here…"

"You know, Layton, I think the girl has a point." Chelmey couldn't help but step in. Did he just want to make Layton look bad? Probably. But he also wanted to defend the young girl. "You may be leaving her behind out of concern, but that doesn't mean much if it upsets her so."

"Inspector? You too?"

This had been an interesting conversation between the parties, and it was really awkward for Cogg to be within five feet of all of this. And after everything did get as tense as it did, Cogg realized that this wouldn't be resolved in just a few moments. He needed to stop it. Luckily for him, he had a time-machine just behind him. What luck!

"Er, sorry to butt in, but we've got to get this show on the road. We can't keep Luke waiting any longer. I have to start her up now."

"But there are several people here who have nothing to do with the matter at hand."

"As far as I'm concerned, the more people we've got, the merrier."

"That's ridiculous. I beg you to reconsider."

"Sorry, Professor. We've got to go. Hold on, everyone!" Before the Professor could convince him otherwise, Cogg flipped the switch, activating the time-machine.

"Hold on? What for?" Chelmey was wondering what would happen, and he didn't wonder long. In a few seconds, the machine started.

Just as the two other times that Layton and Luke went on the time-machine, lights turned on first. Sounds could be heard from the machine, followed by smoke. The people experiencing this for the first time were speechless, and scared. They didn't know what they were about to get into. The hands of the clock were spinning rapidly, and almost out of control. This last for ten more seconds and then it slowly stopped.

"OK! End of the line! Everyone out!"

"What in the world just happened?"

"My stomach's doing back flips again."

"What was all that?"

"Step outside and see for yourself, Inspector. That should serve as sufficient explanation."

"I don't know what you're getting at, but fine. Barton, let's step outside."

"Just a moment, sir. I'm feeling a touch queasy. Actually, make that quite queasy."

It was sad for Barton, but it made Luke feel better that he wasn't the only one feeling bad in the aftermath of time traveling.

"Pull yourself together, Constable! We're going out."

Flora was also feeling very bad after everything. "Please, don't jostle me. I'm feeling a bit green."

"Are you OK, Flora?"

"It was a rather shaky trip."

"I'll say. Time travel really takes it out of you."

"I'm a bit dizzy…" Flora heard the words "time travel" and nearly fainted. She said she was dizzy and dropped like an anvil.

"Oh no! Someone catch her!" No one did manage to catch Flora, but luckily she fell on rug. Meanwhile, the Professor watched as the Inspector left the clock shop. And the word to describe the Inspector was "flabbergasted." Totally flabbergasted, as he probably should have been. They were in a 100% totally different version of London.

"Layton! What's all this? What happened to London?" The Inspector was absolutely going crazy right there. It was hard to watch the Inspector try to come up with a realistic solution to what had happened.

"We're still in London, Inspector. We've just been transported 10 years into the future."

"But that's impossible! Isn't it? Or…Is it possible, Layton?" He now knew how Layton said Bill Hawks was being trapped in the future, but this was unbelievable.

"One thing is for certain. We're no longer in the London we knew."

"Well, there will be time for debate once my work is done. I seem to recall your saying something about the prime minister being trapped in the future, yes?"

"Yes. I'm by no means certain, but it remains a definite possibility."

"Well then, what are we standing around here for? The hunt is on, Barton! We're off to find the prime minister!" Chelmey was already walking quickly into the new land.

"You know, Inspector, we may have better luck tracking him down if we work together on this case."

"That's enough from you, Layton. The fact remains that you're a civilian. I'll handle this on my own!"

The Professor knew that it was likely that Chelmey would refuse help, and that was what did happen. Luke, Flora, and Layton were left and the two men of the police force left to question people.

They were just a bit down the road when something occurred to Luke. "Where's the other Luke, Professor?"

"Now that you mention it, we never decided on a meeting place. Perhaps it's time to pay Shipley a visit."

"Of course! He can get us in touch with Big Luke! Shall we head over to the arcade restaurant, then?"

With a destination set, the duo turned trio went over to the arcade restaurant after some time. They had to first due something else though, before they went there.

To pass the time before they realized what needed to be done, they solved a few of each other's puzzles, and talked with the woman that thought they weren't from London.

"Oh, hello again, you two. Are you enjoying your visit in the big city?"

Luke was still mad that she thought that he was a foreigner in his own land. "My visit here? I'll have you know I was born in this city!"

"Sure you were. Whatever you say." It still angered Luke very much, but the Professor started talking so Luke couldn't get madder.

"What about yourself? Were you born in the city as well?"

"Me? Oh, no. I was born and raised in Cardiff. I spent most of my life there as well. Not so long ago, I found myself in some rather unusual circumstances and ended up moving to London. It's like a movie, really. A sweeping, epic adventure where I'm the star! Enjoy the rest of your time in London, visitors!"

"How many times do I have to tell you I'm from London?"

"Whatever you say, little fellow. Enjoy your time in the big city!"

"I give up."

They continued walking until nearly there, and the Professor had realized something.

"I just remembered something."

"What's that, Professor?"

"We've neglected to explain the situation to Flora." Flora was a few paces behind, and shot a look to the both of them that said, "you're kidding, right?", and then a "did you even know I was here?"

Flora Reinhold must've been so incredibly confused by this point that she was refraining from even speaking to anyone.

"You're right! It completely slipped my mind!"

Flora responded with a little bit of understanding. "No worries. I'm just happy to be along for the ride…and not, you know, left behind as usual."

"Be that as it may, I think an explanation is in order. Let's stop by the hotel for a quick chat." That's what was missing. Flora was clueless on what happened.

"OK, Professor."

They appeared at the Hotel Duke in no time. It didn't take long when you were so accustomed to the new London. They had traveled quite a lot in the first few days.

So Flora, needing rest, ran straight in and headed for the room.

"I'm sorry, but only registered guests are permitted to enter that area."

"My name's Flora. I'm a guest of the professor's and Luke's. Well, sort of." Becky would have allowed her in with just that, but Flora decided to give a little speech.

"Actually, what really happened is I followed them here because they ran off without me…They're always doing that, and to be honest, it really hurts my feelings, and…" Flora must've realized that the Professor and Luke were right behind her, so she decided to end it right there.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take up your time so much."

"Flora, what on earth are you going on about?"

"Don't mind her, Becky. Flora can be a bit awkward around new people." That was true, and I'm sure you would too if you were raised by human-looking robots.

"Oh, I would never pry into a guest's personal affairs. That's against hotel policy! I'll be off now. Have yourselves a pleasant day!" It was a bit awkward that Becky was only sixteen, five or take a year, and was working at a hotel, but if it's family owned, it worked.

Becky left immediately, and Layton and Luke were a little disappointed in Flora for her constant rambling about them.

"I hope Becky doesn't look down on us for running out on Flora."

Nevertheless, they went into their hotel room, and it was the first time Flora got to see their suite. By this time, they were all settled in at Hotel Duke, and all of their stuff was situated.

"What a charming room!" That's what Flora said when looking in the place.

"I'm glad you like it, Flora. We'll be sure to get you one of your very own later."

"Oh, no need for that. I'm happy to stay in this one with you two. We'll just put up a screen. Luke, you're the smallest, so you can sleep in that chair there. Then I can take one of the beds, and the Professor can take the other bed."

Luke did not like even the suggestion of sleeping in a chair. "That's ridiculous! I'm way too big to fold myself into a chair."

"We can discuss this issue more later. For now, let's try to bring you up to speed, Flora."

"All right. So, what's the skinny?"

"Right now, we are in a town that looks very much like London but is fundamentally different. Make no mistake, this is a far more dangerous place than our London."

"How so?"

"What he's trying to say is that we've traveled through time! This is London 10 years in the future!"

"What?" Flora almost fell down again.

"We're currently working with a young man who identifies himself as Luke. According to him, in the 10 years between his time and ours, I became a rather unsavory individual. And here in the future, I rule over the city with an iron fist. This young man is working with me to us to try and stop my evil future self."

"Wow. That's an awfully complicated story."

"Did you follow all of it?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Can you imagine the Professor as a crime boss? This is something I've just got to see."

"Oh, I just thought of something."

"What's up?"

"If both you and the Professor have counterparts here, I should too, right?"

"Sure. I don't see why not."

"But you haven't seen future Flora yet?"

"Nope. Not yet, anyway."

"But didn't it strike you as strange that you hadn't seen me?" She seemed a little upset that she didn't seem to be in touch with the Professor or Luke in the future.

"Um, we've had a lot going on since we came here, and we really haven't had much time."

"I guess I just thought the two of you would've be more concerned with my well-being in the future." She gave a sad look that made the Professor feel guilty every time.

"There, there, dear. Don't get upset now. What do you say we brighten up those spirits with a trip to one of the best restaurants in the city?"

"Oh! That sounds wonderful! Let's go!" Of course, the Professor was talking about the arcade restaurant, which Shipley was at.

"Whew! Nice save, Professor."

They left their room and headed to the lobby, and a certain person was there that surprised the Professor: Dean Delmona.

"Dean Delmona!"

"Fancy seeing you here, Hershel! Have you been well?" The dean looked pretty much as he did earlier in the day, but the 10 years had changed his hair color to white. He was also very wrinkly. He had white bifocals and an orange suit on. He must've been eighty by now, but he didn't seem to have trouble getting by.

"Yes, thank you. You're looking quite well yourself. Spry, even!"

"Oh, heavens! This old man's growing older by the day. One look at my head of white hair will tell you that."

A light bulb went off in the Professor's head while he was talking with the dean, but wasn't ready to tell Luke just yet.

"Ah, yes. I thought something was different about you."

"Some people say silver hair makes a man look distinguished, but I was partial to my brown hair. You know, Hershel, London's full of people quick to sully your name. But I don't believe a one of them."

That was interesting considering he was dictator. But, it was practically the same thing Dr. Schrader said, so possibly he was a very secretive overlord that people would question his identity.

"That was quite a shock, Professor. We saw the dean only hours ago, yet he's aged a full 10 years."

"Yes. Time certainly seems to have left its mark on the dean."

"Is something the matter?" Luke picked up on the fact that the Professor hesitated when saying that.

"Not at all. I just needed a moment to think. Let's be on our way."

It was another walk for the group, and everyone was exhausted. Luckily, everything was within a few miles, so it wasn't all bad. The Layton mobile wasn't working, so it was there only option, and better than nothing. After the walk, they needed a good meal and went into the restaurant. Shipley was sitting where he was last time, and luckily was in contact with Future Luke.

"Greetings, Shipley."

"Excellent timing, Professor. I just received a message for you from Luke. He would like you to go to the observatory in the park north of here. See that you're not followed."

"This park is the one on the road that joins Flatstone Street with Midland Road, correct?"

"That's the one. Luke will be there waiting for you."

"Why do we need to make sure we're not being followed?" Luke asked.

"It sounds like someone out there may be monitoring our movements," The Professor assumed. "Flora, are you paying attention to what's been said? This is very important."

"Of course I'm listening," the quiet, young teen responded, all though she would rather being eating.

"Moving around in a group of three will make us more conspicuous. I know you don't want to be left alone, but I think it would be best if you waited for us at the hotel. As soon as we're done talking with the other Luke, we'll come to get you."

"No. I'm coming with you." Now Flora promised herself that she was going to be a part of whatever it was. She wanted to be in the mystery, not just a third wheel to the Professor and Luke, who was younger than she was. She should get a bigger role if she was older, she thought.

"Now Flora…"

"Aw, come on, Professor. Let her come along. We'll do our best to be stealthy on our way to the park."

"I don't know about this."

"It'll be fine. Besides, it might be more dangerous to leave Flora all by herself."

"I suppose you might have a point. Where we're heading could lead us into some very dangerous situations. Are you sure you want to come along with us?"

"Of course I do! I'm not scared."

"Well that settles it. Let's get moving."

"Sorry, Luke. But we've got no choice but to put our dinner plans on hold again."

"I understand, Professor. No one wants to eat more than I do, but we shouldn't keep Luke waiting!"

"Well then, what are you waiting for? Off we go!"

They were walking when they saw Inspector Chelmey talking to Mr. Dupree, the man that was reading the newspaper earlier.

"You there, with the shady expression! Look me in the eyes when I talk to you."

"I'm reading here! Why don't you buzz off?"

"Listen, hooligan, I'm acting under the authority of Scotland Yard! I demand you comply with my investigation!"

"Scotland Yard? Big deal. It's been years since the police had any power in this town." The Inspector was yet again flabbergasted to here that the Scotland Yard had no authority in the future.

"No power, you say? You'd do well to take a close look at the fellow before you! The very sight of these fists sends thugs running for the hills!"

"Whoa there, buddy. Settle down! Somebody help me. This weirdo's getting too close for comfort!"

Luke thought that this was enough. "Inspector, calm yourself!"

"Ah, Luke. Not now, lad. I'm putting the screws to this dubious fellow here."

Layton then stepped in. "Inspector, please. I can vouch for this man. He's an ordinary citizen."

"Oh, so he's a friend of yours, Layton? You should've said so earlier. You're off the hook, newspaper boy. But, listen well, because I'll only say this once."

"Thanks! I'm listening!"

"The soul of Scotland Yard and what it stands for is immortal! Even in a corrupt pit of depravity like this! Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an investigation to attend to. Good day, Layton." Without any goodbyes to the other man, Mr. Dupree, Chelmey left.

"Thanks for saving me from that loon. What was all that gibberish about Scotland Yard?"

"Oh, the Inspector doesn't mean any harm. He just tends to get a little worked up."

They then reached the observatory in a matter of minutes. The door opened, and Future Luke was there waiting. He spoke first.

"Thank you for meeting me here. I know it's a bit out of the way. I wanted to make sure you weren't followed, and this place afforded me the best view to do that. Have you made any progress in your investigation?"

"We've encountered some unexpected turns, but on the whole, it's going well."

"I can't believe I'm meeting Luke from the future!"

"Oh, Flora, it's you!" Future Luke realized who Flora was in about five seconds. "I didn't recognize you there for a moment. You'll have to excuse me. This is all a bit unexpected."

"It's nice to know that some things never change. I still you're still easily flustered."

"You're the one to talk," Future Luke replied to Flora. "As I recall, you're pretty easily flustered yourself. But it's good to see you. You look well."

"Yes, Flora would be one of the unexpected turns in question. Inspector Chelmey and Barton are here as well."

"Well, I'm not too surprised by the Inspector's arrival. That man lives for police work."

"Are you saying you expected him to tail us back here?"

"Expected? No. But I acknowledged it as a possibility. Enough chatter for now. We need to discuss how we're going to get into Chinatown. We haven't a chance of getting through unless we get those guards to leave the gate."

"And you've found a way to lure them away, haven't you?" The Professor anticipated that Future Luke always thought things through, and would know what to do.

"Yes. See, the guards don't hang around the area all the time. They only man their positions when Layton tells them to."

"In other words, my future self has some reason to post watchmen in the area."

"I confess that could be my fault. I've been doing a lot of reconnaissance in the area and may have been spotted. Anyway, the crucial point to take away is that the guards will leave their posts if their boss says so."

"I understand. But how do we get my future self to issue that order?"

"Luckily, Layton almost never interacts directly with his low-level grunts. Instead, he has his lieutenant, Bostro, give out the orders. I'm sure you remember him. He was that giant thug giving orders at the casino."

"Ah, yes. I know who you're talking about."

"If the thugs by the gate hear Bostro tell them to "get lost," I'm sure they'll abandon their posts."

"Then all we need to do is record Bostro's voice and play it back for the guards."

Big Luke had a pretty good plan figured out.

"Well done, Little Luke. But have you figure out how to reproduce Bostro's voice? Luke was questioning his younger self, although he did know how to accomplish the task. After Luke couldn't remember, Future Luke decided to just tell them.

"I seem to remember your picking up a new friend near the river who boasts impressive vocal talents."

"Of course! Blake! We can get him to mimic Bostro's voice!"

"That's the idea. But how do we get Bostro to learn how to say "get lost" in Bostro's voice?"

"That could prove quite difficult."

"Nah. "Get lost" is something of a catchphrase for Bostro. He's always yelling it. I've spent quite a few afternoons spying on the man. He uses it at least a dozen times a day."

"That's not a very nice thing to say."

"Well, he's not a very nice fellow, as you may have noticed. That catchphrase is our ticket into Chinatown. We should start looking for him immediately."

"All right. Bostro's likely somewhere in the vicinity of the casino. Heading back to that area's a dangerous move, but we should start our search for him there."

They all agreed that that was the best move, and decided to go there immediately, maybe with a meal first.

"Pretty soon, they left, with yet another destination to go to. They were going to find Bostro, and get Blake to listen to his voice. This was all to get into Chinatown, so they all really hoped that once they got in, they would not be sorry. They would meet with Future Layton and try to stop him at once. It would be at least 4 on 1, and it's hard to stop those odds, they all agreed.


	8. Chapter 7: Chinatown

The observatory was old news now. There was a big mission ahead, and no more time would be wasted. Everyone necessary was in London, and they were close to getting in to Chinatown. Once they did get in, they knew things would get crazy. But for now, step one was to leave the observatory and try to spy on Bostro. They started moving immediately.

Both Lukes were walking quickly up front despite Little Luke being scared to go back to the Gilded 7. The Professor and Flora were chatting quietly, and Flora was now alright after being left alone by the Professor and Luke. They lived together, but weren't family. They were made up of three different families- Layton, Triton, and Reinhold.

As they made the journey down to the Gilded 7 Casino, they tried to be very quick in their pace and the fast moving footsteps were hard to keep up with for the children. They stopped and took a break in the middle to rest, but not for too long, due to the fact that they had much to do in a short period of time. And then more walking followed. But, after some time, they did in fact reach the entrance to Chinatown.

"Look! There's Bostro!" Luke had to keep his voice down in this situation, hoping not to be noticed.

"Yes, I'd recognize that white pin-striped suit anywhere. Quick, everyone! Hide!" Future Luke added in, although the hide portion went without saying.

They went and hid behind a nearby bush just as Bostro began to scold one of the goons. "You're supposed to be on guard duty, you clown! Stop goofing off!"

"Aw, I wasn't goofing off, Bostro! I was just—"

"You know the only thing I hate more than a loafer is a loafer who makes excuses!"

"B-but…"

"There ain't no buts about it! That attitude is what keeps you a grunt in this here organization."

Everyone just peeked at the scene as they waited anxiously for Bostro to say his signature line. The line that could get them in Chinatown.

"You know what? You're finished here! The Family don't need no clowns like you! Get lost, you clown!"

And bam! There it was. The special "get lost" that they had been waiting for.

"Aw, come on, Bostro! Don't kick me out! Where will I go?" But the attempt was worthless. Soon he was forced to leave the scene, and Bostro also left not more than a moment later. Future Luke was the first to speak about the preceding event.

"There! Did you hear that?"

"Yes. I heard "get lost" loud and clear." Professor Layton smiled, pleased at what had happened. Then Flora chimed in.

"What about Blake? Did he manage to pick it up?"

Luke decided to use his self-proclaimed animal communication skills to test the parrot.

"Did you hear what that big man said, Blake?"

The parrot made a noise and then spoke. Entrance to Chinatown was riding on a parrot. "Get…Get lost!" The parrot matched Bostro's voice so perfectly you couldn't know the difference!

"It's uncanny how much he sounds like Bostro! A performance like that is sure to fool those two guards at the Chinatown gate!"

At once they left the Gilded 7, not wanted to end up back there again. Instead, they all started the race to Chinatown. But along the way, there was a statue of a man and a boy, who looked very much like the Professor and Luke. Seeing the statue made Little Luke think about the given situation, and time travel in a nutshell.

"You know this statue here, Luke?"

"The one with the man that looks like the Professor? Sure."

"Seeing it kind of got me thinking about, you know, the future. And one thing that occurred to me is that you already know how everything is going to turn out, don't you? I mean, you're me, so you already went through this scenario 10 years ago, right?"

"Well, in a way, yes. But, I can't tell you what's going to happen from here on out. You see, if you had that knowledge, it could alter the course of history. Some of the things that are supposed to happen might not happen at all. Time travel has changed the way events unfold here, and look at the mess it's made. We wouldn't want to add to that chaos, would we?"

"I guess, I never thought about it that way." It was a pretty complex answer, more complex than Luke had thought it would be.

"What's more, knowing about your future self could actually change who you become. And, just to complicate things further, it's probably worth noting that technically you aren't me."

"I'm not?" Little Luke stuttered. "Then who am I?"

"That's a tough question. Our meeting has changed much for both of us. Only the past is certain. Therefore, I was you in the past, but you might not be me in the future. You follow?"

"I think I do." Even if it wasn't true, he felt it was necessary to at least fake understanding the whole thing. "But time travel sure is complicated."

They ended the discussion with that, and continued walking to Chinatown. Brainstorming puzzles and testing them out as they went, they reached Chinatown in no time.

"All right, Luke. This is our chance."

Luke replied very honestly, as he did not know what to expect. "Oh, I'm so nervous!"

"Just relax. We'll stay back here out of sight and let Blake work his magic."

They waited anxiously and then eyed the goons standing at the door. They were Shmelmey and Shmarton, the two goons closely resembling Inspector Chelmey and Constable Barton. They spoke loud enough to hear.

"Ugh, this post is a drag. I can't wait to punch out and grab a hot meal." "Mmm. Sounds good. What I wouldn't give for a piping-hot meat pie with some mushroom gravy right now. But we'd better not let Bostro hear us talking or he'll tan our hides." That left a perfect opportunity for the gang to let Blake impersonate the boss of those goons. "It seems like all that brute does is watch us to see if we mess up. Talk about a terrible boss." This was true, and while it brought up questions about what Bostro does do, there was no time for speculation. There was something that had to be done.

"All right—do your thing, Blake!" Luke used words of confidence and encouragement.

"Doing my thing, doing my thing…" the parrot repeated what Luke had said. "Blake! You're on!" It took a few seconds of nervousness and fear, but that was all worth it. "Get lost! You clown!" The part was excellently performed…by a parrot.

"Did you just hear Bostro?" This really frightened the two goons, who, like all goons, are afraid of Bostro's orders yet very respectful of them. "Yeah! He told me to get lost! Or was he talking to you?" "Maybe he meant both us!" This revelation really got them to want to scamper away as fast as possible. "I think you're right! Aye, aye, Bostro. You don't got to tell us twice. We'll get lost immediately!" This was said as some kind of solute, it seemed, and they both disappeared leaving behind a trail of dust.

"Way to go, Blake!" Luke was very proud of his parrot. "Excellent! I think we can finally get into Chinatown!" Future Luke was also excited about this. "And it's all thanks to our pal, Blake!" The parrot continued to tell Luke to get lost, but then Luke kindly explained that the phrase was no longer necessary.

So, without any hesitation, the quartet of Professor Hershel Layton, Future Luke Triton, current Luke Triton, and Flora Reinhold bravely took their first steps into the previously guarded area known to the locals as Chinatown. Luke pointed out why they were there, and put the Professor on the spot.

"Just down this road is your future self. Do you find it all unnerving?" "It's quite a peculiar sensation, I must admit. Yes, quite." They took more steps and found many strange looking buildings with symbols that seemed impossible to comprehend.

"I still can't believe there's another Professor Layton running around." This all took quite a lot of thinking for a child like Luke to fully understand. It was partially due to the situation, but also that through everything so far, they hadn't really solved any mysteries. There was a list. "Is this the future?" "How did Dr. Stahngun survive." "Why did Layton help him in the future?" "What would future Layton do with a fully-functional time machine? "How could that clock transport them in time?" "What about future Flora?" The questions were both baffling and intriguing, yet it seemed as if this mystery might just be too deep. "I assure you, the man is real. You'll see soon enough." Future Luke said this as if he had a sort of personal connection to the man. He had been rather vague about what he knew. In any case, the first thing to do would be to ask for directions. They found a nice man to talk to.

"Good day, whippersnappers! Tell me, have you ever stopped to admire this marvelous gate? This magnificent structure was constructed to welcome a lucky spirit into the vicinity." He introduced himself as Rudolph. "It is a breathtaking piece of art, isn't it? Tell me, sir, are you familiar with this part of town?" "You mean Chinatown? I suppose some might say that I'm familiar with the area. As you might expect from the name, this area has many restaurants and shops selling goods from Asia. One thing most folks don't know is that, despite its appearance, the buildings here aren't that old." Then Layton had to drop the bomb.

"I've also heard that the Family's headquarters are in this area. I—" he was stopped at that. Apparently this was a subject not highly talked about, and for good reason.

"Whoa there, my friend. Keep your voice down. Though that fact might be common knowledge, it's not the kind of thing one talks about in public."

Luke knew the real issue at hand, and went right to it. "I think what the Professor wants to know is if you can tell us how to get there." For such an interesting proposal, Rudolph thought not much of it. "You're a straight shooter, aren't you, boy? I admire that." Then he had them solve a little puzzle for him, and then proceeded to show them the location. "See that tall building?" "The one in the distance?" "That's the one. It's called the Towering Pagoda, and it's the Family's base of operations. The person in charge of the place is said to be more monster than man. And he wears a hat like yours. But enough of that unpleasant topic. Have an enjoyable stay in Chinatown. Good day." Little did Rudolph know that that man actually WAS Layton. The group of four continued to move on, and they were amazed by the beautiful sights and sounds, and smells, of Chinatown.

"Look at all these shops! And it smells like something amazing is cooking here!" "I see you've taken a liking to the neighborhood. Let's ask a few more locals about the area."

They walked around and found a cool-looking kid just around Luke's age. Luke decided to talk to the kid. He would have a better chance of getting information than the Professor. "I was just wondering if you anything about the man who runs the Towering Pagoda."

"Of course I do. Everyone does. That fellow's bad news, mate." "What do you mean by that?" This was the Professor speaking now. "Well…you know. He's got a bunch of thugs working for him. And they're, like, a thug's thugs, if you know what I mean. So I figure their boss has to be one nasty character." "I see." "He and his goons have this place so scared, most people don't bother going out much. A word of advice? If you value your hide, stay away from the Towering Pagoda.

That was basically more confirmation of what they had originally thought. The kid's word of advice wasn't going to do much. They were already planning on going to the Pagoda, and they weren't going to be stopped. They had to get to the bottom of this. They met a girl, whose father hadn't been coming home. He was an engineer. The idea of time machine building immediately popped into the heads of the gang.

The quest for information led everyone into Pepper's Noodle Palace, a nearby restaurant. Luke and Layton order some pork noodle soup, and Future Luke and Flora passed. But they had to get answers, so Layton asked Pepper a question. "I used to live in London about 10 years ago, but I don't remember this part of the city. Is this area a new development?"

Pepper knew just as much as Layton on the subject. "Gee, that's a good question. I actually just opened up shop here a short while ago, so I don't know. An investor told me this area was ripe for a new restaurant, so I moved out here."

"Interesting…Well, thank you for your time and the menu recommendation."

"Professor, this soup is amazing! Hurry up and eat before it gets cold!" The Professor followed Luke's advice and thoroughly enjoyed the soup. They said goodbye to Pepper and left. With their fast walking pace, it wasn't long before they were standing in front of the Towering Pagoda.

"What an unusual building that is. It has three roofs, each a little smaller than the next. It's like a family of roofs." "Yes, Chinatown has some rather ornate building that were built after your time." A lot sure had changed in ten years. "So, that's why I didn't recognize them!"

Then they saw a man was standing near the Pagoda. He wore a plum colored coat and tie, with a white hat with a red stripe and eyeglasses. "Well, look who we have here." He was referring to Layton and his team. Layton remembered the man. He was Ward, the man in front of the Gilded 7.

"We met on our way to the Gilded 7 Casino, did we not?" Ward nodded his approval. "Nice to see that I made an impression." "Let me guess. You don't want to let us through." It wasn't very hard at all for Layton to put the obvious two and two together.

"There's no need for that attitude. Keeping those out with no business here is my livelihood, you see. You can't fault a fellow for trying to make a living, can you?"

"Perhaps not. But we do have business here. We've come to meet with Layton."

"That may very well be the case. Unfortunately, I simply can't let you pass."

"And why is that? We've stated our business."

"Because my employer, Mr. Layton, is out at the moment. Hence, you have no reason to enter the building."

"And you're quite sure he's out and about right now?"

"Well, I didn't just lie to you, if that's what you're insinuating. The boss has stepped out. He's away. Gone. NOT HERE." Ward began to leave, and their encounter made everyone a little confused. Future Luke was the first to comment. "But, where could he have gone?" "Well, wherever he is, it doesn't sound like he's up in the Towering Pagoda right now." "Professor, I propose we do some sleuthing. I'm sure we can track down Layton yet." "I agree. Let's ask some of the people in the area if they've seen my elusive counterpart."

So they left the Pagoda and went back to the area around Pepper's Noodle Palace. The area surrounding the restaurant was the same, and the boy Luke had met that was his age was still there. He had told them his name was Dylan. So, looking for answers, they talked to Dylan again.

"What can I do for you?" "We went to see the man who runs the Towering Pagoda, but he was out. Do you know where he is?" "I think so…But I'm not telling you. He's a dangerous man. You don't want to tangle with him." Layton had two thoughts about this. 1) How the heck did this kid no where the evil Hershel Layton was? He looked somewhere between ten and twelve, and 2) He's not telling us? What is up with this kid? "Come now—surely there's no harm in letting us know where he might be." He put extra emphasis on the "might" part.

Dylan was very hesitant, thinking it over for reasons unknown to the gang. Professor Layton needed this kid to give him information. He looked around. All kinds of stores, restaurants, everything was in Chinatown. There was red, yellow, brown, buildings of all colors. He could see a huge fake panda in the distance and thought that his future self could literally be anywhere. This is why Dylan needed to open up. Question his sources later. Get info now.

"You're wrong there, but…I guess I can tell you what I've heard. It's just a rumor, though." YES! This was what they needed. "You sure you want to know this? I'm telling you, this fellow's bad news. Real bad." He needed to make sure they really wanted to know, because the tone of his voice made it out like if they came in contact with this man, they might be killed by some hired ax murderer.

Luke assured that it was all okay. "We can handle it. What have you heard?" "People say he disguises himself and then walks around town…" Nice help, kid. That's what most were thinking. "…We could be only feet from him right now and not know it!.." This wasn't much to be excited about. This Dylan kid sure was puzzling. "…Freaky, right? Look, I'm getting creeped out, so let's end this little chat, OK? Later." That conversation was at least slightly helpful, but not too much of a real help to the investigation.

They swung inside Pepper's, and she said she hadn't seen the man who runs the Towering Pagoda, in other words Layton of the future. But she also said she didn't know what e looked like, so with him disguising, you never knew. She did, in fact, mention that the "lackeys" came by and that they are "horrible tippers." Layton, Luke, Future Luke, and even Flora could've figured that out. Pepper made a great point. "Now that I think about it, there's a good chance the man you're looking for never comes here. I mean, would YOU loaf on the job in a place where the boss could bust in on you on any moment?" Layton commended her for this reasoning, calling her "astute." They left, although Pepper tried to persuade them into ordering something.

The investigation was turning up zero answers so far. Hoping that would change, they headed into a place that looked like a library. Before they had a chance to look around, a very short man with curly hair and a lab coat was rushing and yelling in an extremely loud voice.

"Make way! Make way! Coming through! I'm in a hurry here! I've got to get back!"

Flora, who had hardly said a single word throughout the whole journey this far, was shocked by the rapidity of the man, and commented expressing her opinion. "Goodness, that little man startled me! Who would've thought such short legs could move so quickly? Did you see how he raced out of the shop?"

Luke also noticed the unusual behaviors of the man. "I sure did. He was sprinting. And in wet pants and shoes too!" Luke adjusted his messenger bag, and looked at Flora, awaiting her response. "And he was carrying two armfuls of books to boot. He must be a big customer here. Maybe the woman behind the counter knows something about him." Glaring over at the counter, everyone saw the woman.

The woman had a pink shirt on. Her hair was tall and had a blue bow in the back. She was a bit chubby in the cheeks. "May I help you find something?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could tell us about the man who dashed out of your store just now."

"Oh, that'd be Dr. Avogadro. He's always in a hurry."

"His pants and shoes were soaked. It was very strange." Flora sounded like she showed legitimate concern about the man.

"I guess I've gotten used to it. He always looks that way. He sneaks away from work to browse through our new books. You know how absentminded geniuses can be. I bet he doesn't notice puddles in the road."

"Or maybe he likes to go fishing on his breaks."

"Who knows. He always bursts in, buys a few books, and then dashes out without so much as a word."

They left the bookstore, and much to their surprise, despite the apparent rush, Dr. Avogadro was STILL THERE. They wanted to know what his deal was.

"What is it? What do you want? Can't you see I'm in a hurry here?"

"Oh, I think you've upset him. You can't just go running up to people you don't know and expect them to chat with you." This showed how much simpler Flora thinks, and it was a true lesson for Luke.

"I can't help it, Flora. How else are we supposed to find leads for our investigation?"

"Well, some people really don't like talking to strangers. Then Avogadro, STILL THERE, yelled, "Hey, if you two are just going to stand there squabbling, will you at least get out of the way?" The question of what he was doing was still up in the air. "I've got places to be, and I don't appreciate your stopping me."

"Oh, but you don't really want to run around like that, do you?"

"Like what?"

"With your pants and shoes all wet and squishy. It seems awfully uncomfortable."

"There will be time for drying later! I have to go now. Enjoy your little row." He finally left. Layton couldn't help but feel that the man had some sort of relevance. Luke was more disappointed at the departure of the man. "Darn. There he goes."

"He might have stayed if you hadn't upset him from the get-go," Flora retaliated.

"You can hardly blame that on me." With that, they continued exploring, and solving puzzles. Even Flora of all people tried her hand at a puzzle and successfully solved it. Being around Luke and Layton was beginning to rub off on her.

As if things needed to get more annoying, guess who they bumped into again. Hazel. "Hello there." Flora spoke very nicely. "Ah, good day, miss. The name's Hazel. It's lovely to meet you."

"Hiya Hazel," said Luke, and immediately the vibe took a turn for the worse.

"Oh, no! It's you." He probably thought Luke and Layton were messing with him by this point.

"Good to see you again." Layton was as calm as possible, until Hazel jumped to conclusions. "You were using that cute girl as a decoy to lure me out of hiding! I knew it! I knew s-something was funny when she starting chatting me up out of the b-blue!" Why was he such a scared, nervous person? "Why, oh why, did I stop to talk to her? Now you've got me right where you want me. I gotta get out of here!" He left, again. This was way too out of hand. All Layton could do was wonder. "Whatever did I do to get on that fellow's bad side?"

"Beats me, Professor."

"Is that fellow a friend of yours, Luke?" Flora was newer to this new London, and has not been filled in on 100% of the situation.

"That'd be nice, but I can't even get him to stop cowering in fear for five seconds."

They all shrugged and left, leaving the Professor thinking. He hadn't done anything wrong, he knew that for a fact. But his hat had. The really meaning of all the encounters was really just to keep planting the seed in the Professor's head that his supposed future self was really evil, a powerful evil capable of doing whatever he pleased. And it was him. The idea of it still shocked the professor, but it just made him more determined to get to the bottom of it.

They realized that Rudolph had been helpful in the search already, so they decided to see if he knew anything about the whereabouts of the evil Professor Layton.

"Good day, whippersnappers. Did you manage to find that dreadful man who runs the Towering Pagoda?"

"Unfortunately, no. He was out when we paid him a visit. We're actually trying to locate him now."

"Ah, well, you're wasting your time searching for him in this part of town."

So another person with information. Luke picked up on this. "Does that mean you know where we can find our man?"

"I've said too much, I can be so careless at times."

"So, you do know. Please tell us where we can find him. It's very important!"

"I'll say it again, lad. I like how forthright you are. Given that, I suppose I can drop a hint your way that may help you. That is, on one condition."

The condition was basically that he wanted them to find his wife and tell her he was eating out for lunch. When they found the wife, she was very angry. She ranted about not having the money, working long and hard while he relaxes, she hates her lunches going to waste, and more. She was not happy. When they left, Luke described the situation as intense.

"It just goes to show you that when someone prepares you food, you can't just RUN OFF ON THEM!" Flora was obviously attempting to criticize Luke and Layton, who had already just left her countless times in their short time together.

Future Luke saw some arguing in the future, and then realized that Professor Layton was nowhere to be seen. A perfect time to change the subject. "Say, where's the Professor?" In reality, the other three members of the party had started sprinting back to Rudolph, leaving him in the dust.

"Here I am. You three surprised me. I had no idea you could run that fast."

"My apologies, Professor. It was getting a bit uncomfortable in there." Future Luke was turning into a fine gentleman, the Professor thought. Luke adored his future self.

"Professor, don't you agree that it's very rude to stand someone up when they've made food for you?"

Professor Hershel Layton hesitated. "Oh, yes…Absolutely. A gentleman should always express gratitude for the hospitality of others."

"Now that that's over with, Rudolph needs to hold up on his end of the bargain. Let's pay him another visit."

They went back to Rudolph, with some negative news.

"Did you deliver the message to my honey?"

"We did. But I have to tell you that she was absolutely seething by the time we left."

"Why ever for?"

Layton stepped in. "She seemed rather upset at the thought you might be visiting Pepper's restaurant."

"Dear me. I fear there may be a misunderstanding brewing here."

"Do go on."

"My wife is a gem. I treat her like a queen. And what queen do you know prepares lunch? She works so hard that I don't want to add to her burden. Plus, who doesn't love noodle soup? Anyhow, excuse me. I'm boring you now. Let me give you that bit of information I promised you. This is just a rumor, but I've heard that the fellow you're after is quite fond of Old Father Thames. Some say he likes going for long walks to admire the river whenever he has a spare moment."

"Interesting. So, there's a chance we might find our man down by the river Thames?"

"Like I said, it's a rumor and nothing more. But go and see. Maybe it'll pan out."

"We'll do just that. Thank you for the advice."

"Just a moment now! You younger folks are always in a hurry, aren't you? Here, take this." He handed them a flyer.

"A flyer?"

"It's a small restaurant on the edge of the Thames."

"It's called the Thames Arms?"

"A lovely little place. If you're in the area and have the time, you should really stop in."

This sounded good to Layton. "It sounds like a perfect place to take a break. We'll be sure to check it out if time allows. Good day, sir."

Layton asked Future Luke for the directions. "Where does one go to admire the Thames around here?"

Luke interrupted. "There was a hill we walked over on the way to Chinatown. The view of the river there was nice."

"The place that Luke's talking about has a path that runs down to the riverside," Future Luke added. "It might be worth checking out."

"Oh, goody! A walk by the river sounds so nice!" Flora's positive attitude was refreshing. Yet, it ticked Luke off. "Flora, focus! This is serious business. We're hot on the trail of a criminal!"

This didn't bode well with Luke's older self. "Aw, Luke, loosen up a little. We're making progress on the case, and Flora's just finding her own way to enjoy it." It was obvious Flora's way of thinking was not near the same as anyone else's.

"I suppose that's true. Then what are we waiting for?"

Layton gave confirmation by saying, "Yes, let's head to the hill."

This had not gone as smoothly as originally planned. A lot of detours, but then they finally made it to Chinatown. They asked for directions, and got to the Towering Pagoda. The evil, future Professor Layton was not there. They needed to find him. People weren't helping. They went on some shorter quests, one for Rudolph, who gave them their only lead. Praying that he was right, the quarter was committed to going to the Thames River to try to meet "the devil in the top hat."

11


	9. Chapter 8: A Meeting by the River

The next action was clear. They knew what to do, but whether it worked was up to chance. All that the gang of Professor Hershel Layton, Luke Triton, Future Luke Triton, and Flora Reinhold had was a rumor Rudolph had heard and a flyer for the Thames Arms, a restaurant by the River Thames.

Layton, Luke, and Flora were in a future London, 10 years after their present-day. After Layton and Luke attended a time-machine demonstration headed by Dr. Stahngun, which ultimately exploded, apparently taking the lives of Stahngun, and Prime Minister Bill Hawks. They were soon sent a letter from the future, signed by one Luke Triton 10 years into the future. Layton and Luke had gone to a clock shop located on Midland Road, and then transported to a time that was not their own.

After meeting with the Future Luke, they realized that all of London was now in chaos. There was an evil group referred to as the Family, and the family headquarters were located in the heart of Chinatown, in a building called the Towering Pagoda. They learned that the Family is ran by a supreme evil known to all as "the devil in the top hat." Future Luke had to tell them the shocking news. The man was future Hershel Layton, who had worked with a Dr. Stahngun that hadn't died. He would then join the criminal underworld, wanting to make a full functioning time machine in order to change history. Layton needed to be stopped.

After going back to the Midland Road clock shop, they went back to Old London, to research a case. A similar project 10 years ago in which many people lost their lives. It was never put into newspapers, and all of Layton's old papers he'd written about the event had been stolen. Could all the events be coincidences?

They finally got into Chinatown, and went to the Towering Pagoda. Evil Layton was not there. That is where the gang is now, trying to find him. And all they knew is that he likes to go see the Thames. This mystery would take some real thinking. It was a true puzzle.

They were about to go to the hill when they came across a real shady looking area. There was a man there a unibrow and a big nose. He had a teal hat. He looked very weird, but was nice when he introduced himself as Segal.

"Salutations and whatnot. What brings you upstanding citizens back through here?

Luke basically blurted out the response. "We're tracking down the boss of the Family. We got a hot tip that he's down by the Thames!" Luke, as it seemed always did, told people everything, and people who get told that a kid is chasing down the leader of the Family are typically caught off guard, as was Segal.

"Whoa, now! Pipe down! Keep sniffin' for trouble like that and something's bound to start stinking. Take it from me."

Layton noticed how Segal seemed like he knew some things. "You certainly seem to be an authority on the subject."

"Don't you know it. And I know enough to tell that you guys aren't gonna heed my warning." It was a correct assumption. "If you're dead set on going to the riverside, at least check out the restaurant there. The grub there is phenomenal, and you might as well look for trouble on a full stomach." So apparently, the Thames Arms was a good restaurant.

They agreed that they needed to check out the Thames Arms, so they continued to head over there, with a lot on their minds. Most of that was obvious, though. They hadn't yet solved any of the mysteries that mattered, so they were extremely eager to get somewhere on this deep case.

"Almost there! Ooh, the view of the Thames is nice here. Where do you suppose the future Professor is? I am SO excited to meet him!"

"Flora, you're awfully cheery about all of this."

"Well, aren't you excited to meet him too?"

"I want to find him, but I can't say I'm looking forward to meeting a criminal."

Future Luke was not fond of small talk. It was wasteful, and just made good time slip away. "Those stairs over there should take us down to the riverside area."

"Let's not waste any time, then. Down we go."

There was a long staircase that went down from the main walking and driving area which led to a smaller area which was closer down to the Thames. Now they were down by the riverside. There were a few stores and shacks, but mostly it was just pier.

"Wow! The river looks like it goes on forever!"

"It's so pretty!" The mood was nervous. The mood was anxious. The mood was preparation. There was much that could happen, but they couldn't quite be ready for everything. They kept following their path to an area right off of the water with a cylindrical shaped building with some bushes west and the river north. There was an interesting looking man with a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He stared into their eyes. His face looked like he may be a guard. But his appearance didn't look it.

"And just who might YOU be?"

"My name is Hershel Layton. I don't believe I've made your acquaintance, Mr…?"

"Oh, me? I'm Beacon. I take care of that lighthouse in the river." He pointed to the lighthouse.

"Then shouldn't you be there, um, protecting the shore from errant boats instead of hanging out here?" Luke asked with a perplexed tone of voice.

"Oh, hey there, little boy. You were so quiet, I didn't notice you there! So you want to know why I'm here? Well, mine's a rather sad story, so I hope you don't cry easily. I'll try to keep it brief. Before I came to London, I was a star lighthouse keeper out in Dover. But then my employer fitted the place out with a mechanical control system. With the machine there, I was made, as they say, redundant! I was crushed! I had been living my dream, only to be chased out by a machine!"

"That is a terribly unfortunate turn of events." Layton quietly thought to himself that the story wasn't a tear jerker, and it didn't answer the question. But then he corrected his thought, for a true gentleman never thinks poorly of people. He's lucky he didn't say anything. The tale was taking a turn for the worse.

"Just wait. It gets worse. After being run out of town, I found work here in London, right? The ad said I'd be looking after the lighthouse. But when I peeked inside the other day, I was SHOCKED!" The emphasis used was extreme. He seemed like he could have just found the city of gold. But he hadn't. "The whole thing was filled with awful machines buzzing, whirring, and doing other machiney things!" Layton refrained from commenting on how machiney wasn't a word, instead realizing the mystery of the peculiar matter and the awkward predicament Beacon was in. "I couldn't stand being around all that clanking, so I decided to go for a walk to clear my head."

"Strange. Why would the owner put out an ad for a lighthouse keeper when the machines do all the work?" It was strange indeed. Layton tried to wrap his head around it. Flora failed to understand. The Luke's saw it as very peculiar. There was no way this was a simple mystery. All things surrounding the future London were weird. Even things like wet clothes seemed suspicious. That was a sign of a mystery.

Everyone had something to say about the matter, but Luke broke the ice. "Something about Beacon's story sure seems fishy, Professor."

"Yes. I have a feeling there's more going on here than you, I, or Beacon have been made aware of." This may have been Professor Layton's famous intuition, as Luke liked to call it.

After saying their goodbyes, they realized the goal of this mission: go to the Thames Arms. They did just that.

"What a quaint little restaurant."

"It's called the Thames Arms."

"Well, the Thames Arms appears to be open. What say we step inside and have a look around?"

They all agreed and the gang headed into the highly acclaimed Thames Arms. It was a spacious area filled with tables. On the far end was a counter, behind it numerous bottles of wine. There was a bartender there, with a grayish afro and sideburns, leading down to a beard and goatee. He had a red vest on and was cleaning a glass as they walked in.

"Gentleman, lady, welcome to the Thames Arms."

"Good afternoon, sir. We're in search of acquaintance who might have come by today."

"As you can see, business is quite slow. One regular came in earlier, but he left a few minutes ago."

"I see. This regular didn't happen to come from Chinatown, did he?"

"Ah, forgive me, but it doesn't seem right to give out that kind of information without his consent."

"Of course. I understand your concern. However, this information could be vital in assuring the safety of London."

"That's quite a claim to make." He then offered to give them the needed information in exchange for solving a puzzle. Layton whipped through it.

"Excellent. Your help is much appreciated."

"Now that we've solved your problem, can you tell us about the man who was in here earlier?"

"A deal's a deal. That customer who came by earlier is what some might call a bit of an odd duck. Every time he comes in, he's wearing something different. Maybe he thinks I won't recognize him." This news delighted the gang.

"So he disguises himself," Luke said for confirmation.

"He tries to, at any rate. He told me that he can't afford to be spotted in public, so he always wears different clothes."

"And this man hails from Chinatown?"

"That's right. He says he comes here to unwind. His routine's pretty much the same every time. Usually he walks in wearing that top hat of his, orders a beverage, and finds a seat by the window."

"Did you just say that he wears a top hat?"

"I did. It's a tall number like the one your friend is wearing."

"But, as you said before, this man has already left today."

"That's right. If you were here just a few minutes ago, you would have bumped into him leaving."

Luke realized what this meant. "Do you suppose this means he's going back to the Towering Pagoda, professor?"

"I think there's a good possibility. Why don't we go confirm our suspicions?"

"That's a good idea. Let's go!"

"Have a nice day," said the cooperative barkeeper.

They left the Thames Arms at an instant. They found Barton looking through the window to the Thames Arms.

"Hi there, Barton. Fancy seeing you here!"

"Oh, hello, Luke. I've been traveling around on foot gathering information. But all that walking has me in the mood for a snack."

"So that's why you were peeking through the restaurant window!"

"Yes. I confess that a lovely, wobbly jelly caught my eye. Do a hungry man a favor and keep my little break a secret from the inspector, please."

Layton spoke next. "Ha! I wouldn't dream of reporting you, my good man. But now that you mention it, where is the inspector?"

"He's been conducting a series of exhaustive interviews with everyone he meets in town. Once he finds a useful source, he really knows how to wring out every last detail."

"I'll bet."

They began heading back to the Pagoda, with a higher possibility of meeting the future Layton this time around. They were rushed by a woman who told them that strange men, potentially the Family, were talking about them behind their backs.

"…That sounds bad. Professor, do you think the Family has finally caught on to us?"

"I fear that might be the case. If so, we have limited time. We must gain access to the Towering Pagoda before the Family reinforces their guard in the area."

Well, it had been pretty much a wild goose chase, but they had finally figured out the location of the future Professor. He was going back to the Towering Pagoda. All was not well, though. They still had to avoid the Family, who was now onto them. It was going to be crazy, but they expected nothing less.

11


End file.
